Playing With Fire
by Drew55
Summary: AU- Brittany/Puck friendship set in New York. For Brittany's 21st birthday Puck get Brittany a present in the hopes that the innocent girl will finally lose her virginity. Will Brittany accept Puck's generous gift or will she send the girl packing?
1. Party Planning

**Summary: Multi Chapter AU- Brittany and Puck are best friends living in New York City. For Brittany's 21st birthday Puck get Brittany a present in the hopes that the innocent girl will finally lose her virginity. Will Brittany accept Puck's generous gift or will she send the girl packing. Most other characters in the Glee universe will make and appearance at some point, but some will be OOC.**

**AN: This story will be a big stretch for me in many ways so please if you like it and want me to continue please send me a review. It will most definitely give me the courage and drive to continue.**

**Disclaimer- Don't own glee, don't live in New York, never had an escort, nor had lesbian sex so what the hell do I know.**

**AN2: Please don't let the disclaimer scare you off I do have a plan I promise ;)**

Party Planning

**Brittany's POV**

"Puck…" I pleaded with my friend "I don't want a birthday party"

"It's your twenty first birthday..." he said not willing to give in "of course you have to have a party"

I looked Puck in the eyes to prove just how serious I was "No, I don't and I'm not having one"

"Well I'm throwing you one…" He announced with finality staring me down "So just know… if you don't show up, you will disappoint everyone who is there to celebrate with you"

I rolled my eyes, shook my head and threw my hands in the air out of frustration "You really are evil… you know that"

"Well I've never been called nice" He responded with a cocky smile probably realizing he had beat me in this battle of wills "but I think it's funny that I'm actually trying to do something nice for once and I'm being called evil"

"You are nice" I said despite my current feelings to the contrary "well… at least to me anyway" as I rethought my previous statement "but you sure are annoying"

"Please…" he said turning on the charm "you know you love me" as he reached out to give me a hug

"I do…" I said smiling in response and pulling away from Puck's embrace "but I swear if this turns out to be a huge party… I'm gonna hide in your room all night this way you can't bring in your newest flavor of the week"

"O trust me… I'll find a way with or without you in my room," he said with a sly smirk that caused me to grimace thinking about the possibilities "but just to make sure you don't try to cock block me, I'll make sure I only invite a few close friends" he said looking me in the my eyes to prove he was being sincere. I realized this was his way of compromising and for that I was grateful.

"Thanks" I said finally willing to give up the fight knowing Puck was in fact trying to do something nice for me.

"Don't worry about a thing" he said excitedly "I'll take care of everything you just bring your sweet ass back here tomorrow night ready to party"

Puck taking care of everything… now that's scary I thought "You're sure you got it all?" I questioned more out of fear than actual generosity

"Yup…" he said happily as a devious smile crept to his face

"Okaaay…" I said nervously as I turned to leave "I'll see you tomorrow then"

"Hey…" he stated causing me to stop my walk to the door abruptly "Make sure you wear something smoking hot tomorrow night"

Confused by his comment I looked at him sideways; why did he care what I wore. After a seconds hesitation I slowly turned to walk out the door back to my apartment. That was weird I thought shaking my head to rid myself of his crazy comment, why did he say that…

Once safely back in my apartment I dropped my tired body to the couch with a little bounce to settling in. Once comfortable, I thought back to Puck's comment; wear something hot tomorrow… that's what he said, but that doesn't make sense. Puck and I have known each other forever and he's never once mentioned anything about my clothes. We've already been down the relationship road back in high school so that can't be it; besides he knows I'm drawn more to women. I guess I'm just gonna have to trust him; which I did when I was being honest with myself. Within a few years he had gone from friend, to boyfriend, to best friend and now he was family. He was one of the only people back in Lima who stuck with me when I came out as bisexual which had meant a lot; I could trust him… at least I hope I can in reference to this party.

Finally, deciding it was pointless to try and figure out the inner workings of Puck's mind I decided to just call it an early night.

**Puck's POV**

The rest of the night was spent texting everyone I thought Brittany would want at the party; all that was left was one final person. I thought about calling or just simply texting her, but thought better of that; I wanted to make sure she was still willing so probably in person was best. Besides, it was way too early to go to sleep and I could use a night out that wasn't spent with the goal in mind of getting completely obliterated since that would probably happen tomorrow. She normally works at the bar on Thursday's I thought; I'll just go down have a couple drinks and make sure everything is still a go.

I walked into the bar that had quickly become my new favorite go to spot. It had everything I like in a bar; good music, awesome drinks, higher ratio of girls to guys, and I had developed a friendship with most of the employees which meant free drinks from time to time. I knew the bar station that Santana normally worked at so that was the direction I started walking.

After I said hi to a few of the servers and bartender I knew I finally made my way to where Santana was serving a few customers. "Hey" I said getting her attention

Santana looked up and gave me a head nod acknowledging my presence, but continuing the conversation she was having with a guy who was not very subtle about trying to stare down her shirt.

I patiently waited for Santana to finish her conversation with the creep she was talking to as I leaned against the bar scanning the crowd for anyone I recognized or any potential hotties for later tonight.

After about a minute I noticed Santana walking towards me

"Hey Puck… can I get you a beer?" she asked leaning into the bar to listen for my answer over the sound of the band that just started to play

"Corona" I said smiling at the Latina

She quickly popped the top and handed the cold beer over as I took a long refreshing drink "So… how has the night been so far?" I asked deciding to start with small talk before bringing up the main reason for my appearance tonight

"So-So" she answered routinely "but it's still early"

"The band sounds good…" I said trying to find more small thing to talk about

"Yeeaah…" she responded wrinkling her brow in obvious confusion "their good"

"I think the Yankees won today…" I was floundering at this point and I knew it, but I still needed a minute before diving in

Santana huffed and rolled her eyes signaling she was bored with this strange conversation "Jesus Puck… what the hell is wrong with you tonight? Did you forget your balls at home?" she said trying to figure out this strange guy standing in front of her since I wasn't acting like the guy she had befriended over the last few months.

"What…? Huh?" I stuttered out trying to shake away this unexpected bout of nerves

"You look like some geek trying to ask out the prom queen" she said with an air of confidence surrounding her

Deciding to grab my balls which I obviously dropped somewhere before starting this conversation, I began "Sorry… I just have a lot on my mind right now. I'm trying to plan that party I talked to you about… and I think every one of Brittany's friends that I invited… I have slept with at one point or another so it could end up being very awkward; at least for me" I finally spilled out trying to ease into the bigger topic "O… I guess with the exception of you" I said winking at the women in front of me

"There's the Puck we all know and love" she announced sarcastically "glad you found your balls… I was about to give you mine" she continued with a sexy smile

I laughed at the Latina's moxie before taking another drink "So… you still gonna come?" I asked finally getting back to normal thanks to Santana's witty insults

"Yeah… your friend Brittany seems pretty hot" she said raising her eyebrows with interest "I wish you left that picture you showed me the other night it might have made the last couple nights with clients a hell of a lot easier to get through if I had a good mental picture of her."

"Gross Lopez" I said making a gagging noise "She's like my sister"

"Maybe you should have thought of that before trying to set up your pseudo sister" she said using air quotes "with some girl that your hoping will take her virginity…" as she held her hands up defensively "just sayin"

"No…" I said waving Santana off and trying to reassure her that I was okay with this "Just because I don't want to hear about you getting it on with Brittany or you thinking about Brittany when you're getting it on with someone else; doesn't mean that I'm not okay with our arrangement. It's just gross for me to think about her like that" I said with a shiver in disgust

"You're sure?" she asked "Cause now's your last chance to back out"

"I'm sure" I said confidently "It's about time she lost it… she needs this"

"Okay… as long as you're sure" she said "Operation cherry pop is officially a go" as she chinked my beer bottle with her glass of what I assumed was something other than water. "O… just to make sure were clear…" she continued speaking lower than what we had before "since I'm doing this as a favor… no one can know about this. I can't have word getting back to Figgins that I'm giving out freebies."

"Understood" I said motioning as though I was zipping my mouth "My lips are sealed"

"And hopefully Brittany's legs won't be for much longer" she said with that sexy grin that probably got her anything and everything she ever wanted

"Come on…" I said rolling my eyes and throwing my hands up in surrender

"Sorry… I just couldn't resist" she said smiling and starting to walk away in the direction of some girls who were waiting to be served "See you tomorrow night"

Well… I guess there's no turning back now I thought as I scanned the dance floor for someone to have a good time with for the rest of the night. O yeah… lady in red two o'clock… ready or not here I come. The indecent thoughts were already racing within my mind as I approached the women in red as she sway effortlessly back and forth to the beat of the music.

**Santana's POV**

"Phew" I sighed as I shut my apartment door. Finally, I can get some sleep I thought. Lately, life had really been kickin my ass. Between days spent looking for singing and modeling jobs and late nights working at the club it seemed like I hadn't had a full nights rest in… I thought for a minute; I don't know how long. And that didn't even take into consideration the countless hours spent working for Figgins. This city had a way of beating a person down; and it was starting to take its toll.

Slowly, I trudged back to my bathroom; I needed to wash the club stench off despite being completely exhausted. I walked into the bathroom and immediately turned on the shower and started to strip my clothes that were damp with a mixture of liquor and sweat. I quickly kicked off my shoes, followed by my tank top and closely by my jeans and thong. I dipped my hand into the steady stream of warm water testing it before gingerly stepping in.

"Ahhh" I sighed allowing my eyes to close and the warm water to sooth my tired body. After taking a minute to just soak up the showers warmth I slowly started to wash away the grit that was my life. With each stroke of the luffa I felt my tension starting to melt away; tension from not getting any singing or modeling jobs, tension from having to deal with creeps at the club and most of all tension due to my job as an escort. This was not the life I dreamed of when I moved out to New York a few years ago, but unfortunately it's what I was stuck with.

Finally, feeling at least physically cleansed I climbed out of the shower reached for my towel, dried off, before readying myself for bed. I walked out into my bedroom with the towel draped snuggly around my body and I couldn't help thinking that my bed looked especially large and lonely tonight. I sighed deeply as I walked to grab a pair of shorts and tank top to sleep in. Life sucks I thought as I climbed into bed and wrapped my body in my expensive, but extremely comfortable sheets. Maybe tomorrow will be a better day I thought as I shut my eyes and allowed sleep to take over.

**AN: Well there is the first installment… It was only designed to introduce the main characters and set up the larger story. I hope you liked it and will take a minute to send me a review letting me know what you thought and that you want me to continue. If you are not a person who reviews than alert the story or me so I know you are interested in what happens. They are all ego boost and every writer needs that! :D**

**As far as future chapters go eventually this story will change to an M rating given the already suggest content. Not sure how graphic it is going to be so that would be a good thing to include in a review if you have a preference.**

**Next chapter will introduce a few more of the glee characters so if you have a favorite ship or characters you want to see let me know and **_**maybe**_** I will try and incorporate them in the story.**

**Looking forward to hearing peoples thoughts and opinions so thank you for reading and please review!**

**Take care**


	2. Happy Birthday

**AN: I'm really happy with the response this story has gotten so far :D and the reviews, favorites and alerts have been amazing. I can already tell this is going to be a blast to write and hopefully a blast for everyone to read as well. So thank you, thank you, thank you for all the love. **

**I'm really glad that everyone seemed to like Puck's relationship with Brittany and Santana because I gotta say… I was a little worried that people would think he was a douche bag for setting them up the way he did. But, all will be reveled in due time and Puck will have a major role in that, so it should be fun.**

**Also, I decided where I wanted to take this story… relationship vs. smut or maybe both; I guess you will find out soon (hehehe). Although, I must add that I think everyone will be pleased with my choice (I hope at least) so onward and downward.**

**ENJOY!**

**Disclaimer- Still don't own glee, or live in New York, gladly never had an escort, and since I'm a guy lesbian sex is kind of out of the question, so again what the hell do I know.**

**AN2: Careful with the guys are dumb jokes in the reviews (I know I walked into it, in more ways than one actually which you will see later in this chapter), but we have feelings too. ;) ;)**

Happy Birthday

**Santana's POV**

"I'm cumming" he moaned deeply as a cry of "O-O GOD" echoed within the walls of the dimly light hotel room. I felt the heavy weight of his body land upon my back as my hands and knees dipped deeper into the mattress while a few beads of sweat rolled down between the valley of my breast towards my belly button. His hot heavy breathing was at the base of my neck as his body molded to my back side in a sweaty heap of sticky exhaustion. I was also breathing hard from the strenuous performance and I thought… that's exactly what that was, a performance nothing more as I tried to convince myself and rid my mind of the images of what had just occurred. The man behind me continued to breathe deeply, in and out as his body rose and fell trying to catch his breath and all the while I was inwardly cursing what my life had become.

The deed was done and I always had known that this was the worst part of my job; not that there were any good parts with exception of the money, but this was by far the worst. During the actual act it was easy to put aside all your emotion and just become mechanical. Put my leg here, place a little pressure there, let out an approving moan now, and that was that; and men were particularly easy to fool with just a few simple tricks. It was my job to act the part, and act I did, because anything else felt like I would go mad. But now… after the client got his moneys worth and the room grew still, the act I so carefully crafted was over and all that was left… was a feeling of overwhelming guilt; and it felt suffocating.

Three thoughts always entered my mind at this point; how did I get here, why do I do this and how long do I have to wait before I can leave.

Finally, the heavy breathing behind me subsided as he rolled off and to the side as the mattress dipped and squeaked accepting his weight. I took this opportunity to roll further away and put as much distance between him and I as possible without drawing too much attention.

"That was amazing" he said in a strained raspy voice that made it very difficult for me not to cringe.

Realizing the job wasn't quiet over and trying to shake my mind of my guilt I fell back into my role "That was better than amazing…" I said with a forced and what I hoped would come out as a satisfied sigh "you were incredible." The words exited my mouth and I fought the urge to regurgitate, inwardly thinking that they tasted horrible; so I slowly lifted myself to sit on the edge of bed and turned away so he wouldn't see the disgusted look now adorning my face.

"You can bet that I'll be back for round two sometime soon because that…"he said breathlessly "could get addicting" as he reached out trailing his clammy fingers down my bare back.

The feel of his finger repulsed me and I had to suppress the intense urge to pull away "Baby…" I said in the sexiest voice I was capable of at this point without feeling physically ill "just call the service and I will be at your beckon call whenever you want"

"You can bet I will" he said getting up to put his clothes back on.

I was also moving around the room in search of all my belongings at this point and once dressed and satisfied I found everything; I started to head for the door. I reached for the door handle, but turned around before pulling the door open "I'll see you soon…" I said winking at the man who was still tying his shoes.

"Count on it" he said looking up and leering at me

And with that I was out the door. I walked quickly to my car that I parked in the garage all the while avoiding any eye contact from people I passed as the feeling of guilt started to once again churn deep inside my stomach. Once in the safe confines of my car I sighed deeply and dropped my head to lean against the head rest finally feeling like I could drop the act.

The bile that was threatening to rise in my throat was eventually brought under control after taking some deep breaths and relaxing into the silence that was now surrounding me. I finally opened my eyes and sighed deeply one final time before clicked my seatbelt into place and slowly starting my car to begin the drive home. God I hope tonight is better than that I thought as I pulled out of the garage and merged into the steady flow of traffic.

**Brittany's POV**

It was 7:00pm and I spent most of my day either on the phone or answering happy birthday texts or emails from everyone I knew; everyone except my parents. This didn't really surprise me since we hardly ever spoke, but it still stung knowing that they had completely wrote me off at this point.

Despite not hearing from my parents and my conversation with Puck about not wanting a birthday party I loved birthdays. They always felt like the start of a new chapter; one that held limitless possibilities for the coming year and this year particularly I couldn't help feeling like something wonderful was going to happen for me.

It was time to start getting ready for the party; what to wear I thought. It was at this point that I remembered Puck's comment from yesterday about wearing something hot. I stood in front of my closet staring at the possibilities at a complete loss. The options were kind of slim pickens, but let's see… I have jeans, a skirt, shorts or a dress; jeans would be what I would normally wear I thought and they could certainly be made to look hot with the right accessories, but… I thought reconsidering, probably not the best choice for tonight; it is a special night after all and I don't want to look the same way I always do. Shorts were cute and they do accentuate my legs, but cute wasn't exactly the same as hot. This left a skirt or a dress. I pieced through my collection of dresses and frowned in disappointment. All these dresses look like I'm either going to church or it's my 40th birthday not my 21st so that nixed the idea of a dress. Skirt it is… I decided.

The final decision was made after a few wardrobe changes when I put on a short black skirt that was tight but not too tight, heels, and a shirt that revealed just enough cleavage to let Puck know that I tried to wear something hotter than normal but nothing too crazy so that I didn't still feel like myself.

I took one final look in the mirror once I finished my hair and makeup and smiled. I think I look pretty hot I said to myself as I gazed upon my reflection.

I looked at my watch and noticed it was still a little early. Puck asked me to be there by 9:00pm. Maybe he needs a little help setting up I thought and I'm sure he won't mind me showing up a little early so I grabbed my purse and keys as I headed out the door.

**Puck's POV**

I finally had a minute to sit after spending most of the day trying to make sure I had everything together for Brittany's party when the door swung open and she walked through.

"Hey birthday girl…"I announced excitedly since I wasn't expecting to get to spend time with her before everyone showed up. I motioned her over patting my knee and smiling mischievously at the blonde "get over here so I can give you your birthday spanking…"

"Puckerman you better keep that hand away from my butt tonight or your gonna find yourself minus some fingers" she said trying to be intimidating

"Damn…" I said sulking slightly but inwardly laughing "you're no fun"

I could see Brittany quietly looking around the apartment and I smiled knowing what she was thinking "Do you think you have enough alcohol in here?" she asked with wide eyes as a small smile crept to my face realizing I was right "It looks like you robbed a liquor store. Please tell me you didn't?" she said looking slightly concerned

"Well you only turn 21 once… we wouldn't want to run out and no I didn't rob a liquor store that was a one time thing" I said feigning being insulted

"Well I certainly don't think there's any chance we'll run out" Brittany said looking around the room at the makeshift bar and keg "I think we'll still have leftovers when our grandkids turn 21"

"Then we should get started now if we're going to put a dent in this stuff" I said motioning to the table with all the liquor "let me get you your first legal shot? What do you want?"

"Something girly" she said looking nervously towards me "nothing too strong"

"I got just the thing" I said turning towards the table to hide my smirk

"Here you go" I said handing Brittany the shot after carefully concocting the wicked drink

"What is it?" she asked

"It's called a four horseman…" I responded trying to keep a straight face

"O… okay" she said looking relieved

"To you…" I said chinking the shot glasses together "happy 21st birthday" as we both downed the fiery liquid

Brittany's face immediately contorted as if she were swallowing nails or about to breathe fire. It took her a minute to force the shot to settle while I looked on with a satisfied smile "You okay?" I laughed out

"You're a jerk" Brittany spat out as I continued to laugh "I thought it was going to be easy since it was named after horses and horses are cute, nice, and fun to ride; unlike you" as she hit me in the shoulder

I was still laughing as the door swung open and in walked Quinn and Mercedes from downstairs. "Happy birthday Brittany" announced the blonde

"Thanks" she responded walking over to greet the two newcomers

"We brought you a bottle of wine" Quinn said looking around at all the alcohol "although it doesn't look like you need it"

"Yeah… Puck's an alcoholic so this half is just for him" Brittany said motioning towards part of the table as both the girls shot daggers at me.

Yay… I thought sarcastically; the funs already begun as I silently wondered why I ever slept with those chicks "Can I get you ladies a drink?" I asked trying to ease the tension.

"No… I got it" Mercedes said pushing past me to get to the keg

Ow… that hurt I thought as I rubbed my shoulder looking in the direction of the obviously very strong diva; this is gonna be a long night. I minus well get wasted I thought as I turned to walk to the bar to take another shot or five.

The party was really starting to get amped up now; the music was bumping and everyone was enjoying the makeshift bar I created. I wonder where Santana is I thought as Finn approached from off to the side

"Nice job man…" Finn said patting me on the back and looking upon the crowd "It looks like Brittany is having fun" as we both looked in Brittany's direction.

Brittany was dancing with this guy Mike who she worked with at the dance studio and I internally thought; that's not the person she should be dancing with tonight.

Mike seemed like an okay guy and I was happy that Brittany was having fun, but I couldn't help thinking that she would have more fun with Santana.

Just then from the corner of the room Mercedes yelled "Let's cut the cake" and I silently thought… of course she wants to cut the cake as I rolled my eyes and walked over.

Everyone slowly made there way over to the cake and started to sing happy birthday as I tried to light the candle. It was difficult due to my vision being a little blurry, but I finally found the wick at about the time "happy birthday dear Brittany" was sung and managed to get it lit just in time for the finale.

The song finished and someone yelled "Make a wish…" as Brittany leaned down about to blow out the candle. She stopped and I followed Brittany line of sight confused by the sudden halt to see Santana standing coolly off to the side having just arrived.

**Brittany's POV**

As I was about to make a wish and blow out the candle I noticed a woman; a beautiful women, one that I didn't recognize enter the room. My eyes locked with the mystery brunette as I momentarily forgot that everyone was staring at me waiting for me to blow out the candle. Who is she I wondered as the seconds continued to tick away?

"Hello…?" Mercedes announced loudly as I continued to stare at the beautiful brunette "earth to Brittany…"

I struggled to pull my eyes away from the beautiful newcomer as I reluctantly leaned in breaking the staring contest to blow out the candle. CRAP… I thought as the candle began to smolder; I forgot to make a wish as everyone started clapping and cheering now that the candle had finally been extinguished.

Quinn started to cut the cake while everyone approached giving me hugs and kisses to wish me happy birthday. I graciously accepted all the well wishes from my friends, but something just kept pulling my attention back to the beautiful stranger as I continued to steal short glances in her direction. I was confused by this woman; how is this gorgeous creature at my party when I have never seen her before. Not that I minded, but I still wondered why she was here.

I got distracted by Artie because he almost rolling over my foot while trying to wish me well and give me a hug when I felt a gentle hand touch my shoulder causing me to turn around.

"Hey Brittany…" Puck said gesturing to the women beside him "this is my friend Santana"

**AN: Sorry to leave you on a small cliff, but considering what's to come this is minor. HAHAHA (that was a very manly laugh by the way, I felt the need to convey that not a girly giggle… it's so hard to convey that through written words) ;) **

**I have to say that first scene with Santana in the hotel room was painful to write. I DID NOT enjoy having to write her being fuck by some creep, but it was necessary for the development of her character. On the bright side our girls have finally met so that's at least a start. YAY!**

**This chapter is brought to you by Jim Beam, Jack Daniels, Johnnie Walker, and Jose Cuervo since they are the four horseman and bad motherfers I must say, and not at all cute to ride like Brittany had thought. I own no rights to them either other than the bottles that stand in my liquor cabinet. (Drink responsibly)**

**If you liked this click the review button it's your duty after all ;);)**

**Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoyed it! The next chapter is where we finally start to get to the good stuff hehehe (now that was a girly giggle) :) **

**Take care and please, pretty please review!**


	3. First Encounter

**AN: So our favorite duo has met… I wonder what's gonna happen (hehe). I'm not gonna hold you up, but I have to say thanks to everyone who is reading, reviewing, favoriting and alerting and a special thanks to the anonymous reviewers who I can't respond to via PM. So thanks a bunch to everyone and enjoy! **

**Disclaimer- Glee is not mine, New York is about 300 miles away, Santana the escort is unfortunately not real, and lesbian sex is purely a dream so again what the hell do I know.**

First Encounter

**Brittany's POV**

"Hey Brittany…" Puck said gesturing to the women beside him "this is my friend Santana"

"Hi Brittany" Santana said sweetly as our eyes met once again this time without the buffer of space "It's nice to meet you" she said offering her hand.

O crap… it's her I thought as my body temperature jumped what felt like fifty degrees. Suddenly, me knees felt weak and my heart began hammering uncontrollably in my chest making it difficult to concentrate. Still, even with all of this to contend with, I still managed to think she was even more beautiful up close.

I vaguely realized she was holding her hand out waiting for me to take it, but I couldn't, I couldn't move; I was frozen.

"Happy birthday…" she said making it sound more like a question than a statement while looking at me with a concerned crinkle to her forehead and leaving her hand outstretched.

Say something you idiot, say something I told myself, but unfortunately my mouth didn't listen.

**Santana's POV**

If I hadn't seen her speak to people from across the room I would have thought she was mute. She looked like she had seen a ghost and she was even trembling slightly. I quickly glanced at Puck wondering if this was normal or not, but he looked equally confused by the blondes lack of a response.

"Brittany…" Puck stated loudly trying to get her attention "are you okay?" he asked looking concerned "how much have you had to drink?"

Brittany was still staring at me and the intensity of her gaze was starting to make me uncomfortable. Hoping that she would say something soon and break the awkwardness of the moment I decided instead of waiting for her to take my hand I would reach out and take hers.

Our hands touched and I watched her eyes shift away from my eyes down to our interlocked hands. "So Brittany…" I said in the sweetest voice I was capable of "it's your 21st birthday…" Again, it was more of a question than a statement since I was hoping she would at least give a one word answer and put us all out of our misery.

"Y-yes" she finally stuttered out causing me to smile finally hearing the sound of her angelic voice. She's cute I thought out of left field.

"Damn girl…" Puck said startling the both of us "what the hell is wrong with you?"

That seemed to do the trick because Brittany finally seemed to wake up "Huh?" she said looking at Puck as I dropped her hand somewhat reluctantly.

"I said…" as he enunciated the last word "are you okay?"

"Y-yeah" she said stuttering again "I think I may have had too much to drink; I'm a little light headed" as she brought her hand delicately up to her forehead.

"Let me go get her a glass of water" I said looking at Puck as he gave me a head nod confirming that was a good idea.

I started walking towards the kitchen and thought, wow… she's gorgeous, but this might be more trouble than it's worth; maybe I should have asked for the money. I originally thought this might be fun hearing the way Puck talked about her and seeing how hot she was, but now I wasn't so sure. I hope Puck can break her out of her shell or else this is really going to feel like work.

**Brittany's POV**

"Brittany…" Puck said taking my hand and leading me to the sofa "why don't you have a seat" he instructed moving out of the way so I could sit.

"How much have you had to drink?" he asked

"I'm okay… stop worrying" I said finally feeling as though I could feel my legs again and looking towards him shamefully "I think the last shot I took just went to my head is all"

"You're sure…? Cause you looked like you were going to pass out"

"I'm fine…" I said trying to reassure him "It was just that last shot… I'm fine, I promise"

"Okaaay…" he said looking unconvinced.

Just then Santana approached with the glass of water "Here take this" she said reaching out to hand me the glass.

"Thank you" I said weakly taking the glass of water and briefly looking towards her eyes which I couldn't help being drawn too.

"The water should help" she said looking at me with worry lines creasing her forehead as I took a refreshing sip "Trust me, I seen enough 21st birthdays to know that you need to drink some water and probably eat something or else you're not going to last much longer"

"You're probably right" I said finally feeling confident enough in my voice to speak freely "I'm sorry if I was rude earlier… I'm just not used to drinking like this" I knew it was a lie and I hated lying, but I couldn't have her knowing the real reason for my sudden lack of social skills.

"Don't feel bad, I don't offend easily. Besides we've all been there… right Puck?" she said averting her gaze away from me and towards Puck, gloating at him.

"Don't lump me in with you two…" he said sounding offended "I can handle my liquor"

"O really…?" Santana questioned looking at Puck with a cocky smirk "I could have sworn I remembered a night a few weeks ago when I found you looking for your lost shoe and missing a clump of your mohawk. How might that have happen?" she asked obviously knowing the reason.

I laughed remembering the day "You told me the reason you shaved your mohawk was because your head was hot and it was getting close to summer" I said looking at Puck who was now uncomfortably shifting his weight back and forth between his feet.

"Yeah… well I…" he stammered out looking back and forth between Santana and I.

"Don't even bother" Santana stated cutting him off while smiling and laughing at Puck's downfall. She has a great laugh I thought to myself as she continued "I know way too many secrets about you from the club for you to try and cover this up"

"O… come on I want to know the stories" I pleaded looking at Santana eager to find out the dirt. Not that I didn't have a lot of dirt on Puck anyway, but when it came to Puck you could never have enough ammunition.

"Later…" she mouthed with a wink in my direction.

O gosh… she winked at me as my heart falter excitedly feeling like I was 13 again. The Latina's actions and words finally sunk in as I thought; later… it has a nice ring to it.

"Great…" Puck said looking whipped "I've created a monster introducing the two of you" as he just turned and walked away.

Santana and I looked at each other and burst out laughing as we watching him walk away with his shoulders slumped in defeat; poor Puck I thought.

Once we brought our laughter under control I looked back at the beautiful Latina and smiled "Thank you" I said looking at Santana nervously.

"For what?" she questioned with a smile as she sat down beside me

Her smile and close proximity was making it difficult for me to think again and I begged what ever higher power there was to allow me to hold it together for at least a little while longer "For getting me a glass of water and for making me feel better about my drunken head rush with that story about Puck"

"Don't mention it…" she said brushing my unease aside "trust me that was nothing. In fact you don't even look that drunk"

BUSTED I thought… she knows and she's gonna think I'm some kinda freak who can't even hold a simple conversation as I dropped my gaze from her face to my hands that suddenly became very interesting in my lap.

**Santana's POV**

What is up with this chick I thought baffled by the blonde sitting next to me? She looks giddy and happy one minute and the next she's nervous and apprehensive. She was still playing with the rim of her water cup as I took in her appearance; I think I'm making her nervous I thought smiling and taking some pride in that knowledge. If only she knew how hot she was she would never shy away like this.

Deciding now that not only did I want to make it my mission to help Brittany sexually; I mean hell look at that body… oh the things I want to do to it I thought licking my lips and feeling my temperature rise. But, I also think I can help her become more self assured and confident in the process; a girl like her should never be this timid.

That realization hit me like a bolt of lightning; what the hell is **that **about I thought… I don't do feelings. What do I care if she is self confident or not. It's my job to get in her pants not to care whether she feels good about herself afterwards. But… she looks so cute sitting there I thought glancing at the blonde who was still staring at her cup. God Lopez, shake it off I told myself as the two sides of my conscience battled back and forth. On second thought, maybe compassion and tenderness is the way to play this role. She is really innocent after all so I'm gonna have to be really careful anyway.

"You know…" I said placing my fingers delicately under her chin and tilting up forcing her to look at me "you should never hide your eyes… their way to beautiful to keep hidden"

Immediately, I saw and felt a blush creep to her already rosy cheeks. It was incredible to see the effect a simple complement had on her and I silently wondered what else I could do that would make her blush like that.

"Thank you" she responded bashfully as I felt her chin push against my fingers trying to look away.

"I'm sorry I crashed your party" I said trying to distract her and dropping my hand once I felt she could hold my eyes "Puck talks about you all the time and I have a feeling he doesn't talk about many people positively so I just kinda invited myself in the hopes that I would get to meet this person he speaks so highly of. I hope that okay?"

"Yeah, of course, it's fine…" she practically stuttered, smiling awkwardly "the more the merrier. So you work at The Inferno?" she asked hesitantly and changing the topic.

"Yeah… how'd you know?" I asked confused "I've never seen you come in with Puck before; have I?" I asked rethinking the possibility that maybe I had see her in the club and just didn't notice… no that can't be it I thought; I would have noticed someone like her especially if she was with Puck.

"No" she said dropping her eyes again, but picking them quickly back up once realizing what she had done which caused me to smile victoriously "I've never been to The Inferno… I just turned 21 today so going there would have been illegal before now" she said innocently.

"Trust me they would have let you in" I said knowing how lenient they were with checking ID's "they let any cute girl in regardless of their age"

There it was again… that rosy glow that made me smile; maybe this wouldn't be that bad after all I thought.

**Brittany's POV**

Santana had a great smile I thought smiling back at the Latina… and those eyes… and those lips… and those legs… and those breasts. O God what am I thinking as I caught myself checking her out. Once again the temperature rose within my body to a scorching level. Hopefully, she didn't notice I thought while struggling to maintain my eye contact. It's funny, before I couldn't look away from her, now I can barely glance at her without being embarrassed.

"How bout we go find you something to eat" Santana said as I was once again startled from my thoughts "I think you're going to need it… it's still pretty early" she said looking at her watch "and something tells me you have a lot of drinking left to do tonight"

"You're probably right" I said grateful for the change back to an innocent topic "I think Puck wants me to take twenty one shots. Although, there is zero chance of that happening"

Santana smiled at me again in response which resulted in an internal celebratory touchdown dance.

"Well don't let anyone pressure you…" she said shaking me from the victory dance going on in my head "know your limits and stick to them regardless of what someone else wants you to do"

"Wow… that's pretty heavy for a party" I said rising from the sofa and looking at her curiously "You make it sound like I'm just going to let people take advantage of me"

"No… that's not what I meant" as she quickly stood up to face me looking contrite "I just meant it's easy to get caught up in the moment; it happens to me all the time and almost always I end up regretting it later. I didn't mean to offend you"

"Easy…" as I held up my hands defensively and snickering slightly "I don't offend easily either" I said throwing her own words back at her and smiling knowing that I could make her squirm as well.

Santana laughed and it was like music to my ears. I could listen to her laughter on repeat and be a very happy person I thought.

"Why don't we go find that food" she said offering her hand and smiling

Once our hands touched it felt like a shockwave travel through my hand and up my arm almost causing me to drop hers. I looked at Santana to see if she felt it as well, but her expression was unreadable so I thought of course she didn't; why would she?

Santana gently tugged on my hand as she took off in the direction of the kitchen. I allowed her to lead me through the crowd of friends as a few of them shot me inquisitive looks. I pretended not to notice, I was quite content to spend time with this mystery woman who was causing my body to ignite in strange and wonderful ways and at this point, I didn't want to be interrupted.

**Santana's POV**

What the hell was that I thought as our hands found each others. It felt kind of like subtle tingling; which I had never felt in my hand before. My crotch yes, but not my hand; I wanted to drop her hand thinking it was strange, but I also didn't want to hurt her feelings, plus… now that I thought about it, it felt kinda nice. Decided to leave it alone for now, I lead Brittany toward the kitchen in search of food.

"Do you want a piece of cake?" I asked scanning the possibilities for something that would soak up the alcohol. It was that or vegetables and dip and I figured the latter would probably be worse if it were to resurface.

"Sure" she said "I love cake" as she dove in.

She's adorable I thought as she shoveled bite after bite into her mouth. "Umm… that's good" she cooed as her eyes rolled back in her head. I hope I can cause that reaction later I thought as she continued to eat the cake as more pleasurable moans and noises escaped her mouth. The way she was moaning forced me to tighten my legs to suppress the rising tension in my abdomen.

"Good, huh?" I asked with a smile loving how much enjoyment she was getting out of that cake and particularly the sounds that were resulting from that enjoyment. "You're sure you're not high as well because you are really loving that cake?" I asked with a curious smile and secretly hoping she wouldn't stop making those erotic sounds. It was causing a rush of warmth to settle in my core thinking about Brittany moaning like that for different reasons. Like instead of her eating cake I was eating her, tasting and delighting in her arousal. I wonder what she tastes like I thought.

God Santana… get a hold of yourself I thought realizing the direction my mind had wondered. She is no where near ready for that yet, but at least its something to work towards I thought as I continued to watch her finish the last bite. I almost hated to see her finish, but I noticed some icing lingering at the corner of her mouth. Without thinking and going on instinct I leaned forward capturing her lips in a short delicate kiss. My tongue slowly reached out to lick away the sugary icing at the corner of her mouth as I enjoyed the feeling of her lips pressed against mine.

I could tell I surprised her because she had yet to kiss me back. So I reluctantly pulled away hoping I hadn't upset her as I looked into her eyes nervously.

She didn't look upset I thought; the opposite in fact, but still I felt the need to apologize "I'm sorry… I didn't mean…"

She cut me off before I could finish my sentence by placing a silencing finger to my lips. "No… don't worry… I'm sorry" she said looking remorseful "you just surprised me is all." Her finger lingered on my lips longer than necessary as we stared deeply into each others eyes. The feel of her finger applying gentle pressure to my lips was causing my breath to catch tightly in my chest as I let out a ragged content sigh causing her to drop her finger.

Her lips had tasted so sweet, probably from the sugary cake and icing; God I want to kiss her again I thought.

This surprised me; it was a feeling that I hadn't felt in a long time, in fact I hadn't really felt anything other than guilt or regret in a long time. It was nice, but it also scared the crap out of me.

I pushed that feeling to the back of my mind, deciding that now was not the time to get distracted by feelings and focused back on the adorably sexy women standing in front of me. She has no clue how sexy she actually is I thought. I'm going to enjoy bringing that side out of her.

"How bout we call it even" I said trying to ease the tension that had become incredibly thick at this point "I'm sorry for kissing you out of no where and you're sorry…"

I paused trying to think why she was sorry, but came up empty "I don't know why you're sorry" I said wrinkling my brow in confusion.

"I'm sorry for not kissing you back" she said bashfully and averting her gaze.

"Hey… what did I say earlier…?" as I tilted her head up pleading with her to look me in the eyes "never hide your beautiful blue eyes; it should be a crime" I said looking deeply into her wholesome baby blues trying to reassure her that she had no reason to be fearful.

**Puck's POV**

I watched trying not to hover as Brittany and Santana quietly talked on the couch and then as they moved to the kitchen. It appeared to be going okay as I watched Santana gently touch Brittany's chin. Brittany looks happy I thought.

I had hoped that setting these two up would be good for the both of them not just for Brittany, but even now watching their sweet moment, doubts were starting to creep in. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea I thought; I mean Santana is a professional and Brittany is… well Brittany. This could turn out very badly I thought starting to get concerned as a million thoughts started running through my mind. What if they do hook up and Brittany ends up getting her heart broken. O God… what if Brittany finds out that I set her up with an escort that would be a disaster I thought. Also, what if it does work out, what's Santana gonna do about her job. All these what ifs were starting to run wild in my mind and none of them seemed to be good.

But…, then again I thought trying to look on the bright side while watching the two women interact and smile. What if it does work out and they both end up giving each other exactly what they need. Man, I hope my instincts are right about these two and everything turns out for the best, they deserve some happiness.

And on the flip side if it doesn't work out… at least one of them will end up killing me. So in that case I'll no longer have anything to worry about it because I'll be in hell. Jesus… that's a dreadful thought as I shook my head trying to rid my mind. It's gonna work out, it has too, because I don't even want to think about what will happen if it doesn't.

I need to stop thinking about this for now I thought. It's starting to give me a headache as I walked to the bar hoping for a distraction. I scanned the room looking at all the happy people dancing and chatting about when I noticed and attractive blonde talking to that Mike kid. Hmmm… I thought as my mind switched directions rapidly. Who is that girl? This distracted me just enough so that I momentarily forgetting about the possible catastrophe that was Brittany and Santana. Maybe I should go introduce myself and welcome her into my home, it would only be right I thought as I walked towards my target forgetting, at least for the time being that I had started a chain of events that could potentially lead to pain and heartache for everyone involved.

**AN: Chapter 3 in the bank (Phew…) I really agonized over certain parts of this chapter. I'll see if you guys can figure out which parts by your reactions in the reviews. **

**So now would be a good time to tap that review button, I could definitely use the feedback.**

**Thanks again for reading and take care as always!**


	4. Dancing Around Each Other

**AN: YAY chapter 4! **

**I can't thank you all enough for your amazing comments and all the alert and favorites. It really has blown my mind the response this story has gotten. I mean my last story only had 44 reviews in 10 chapters so to have 37 after 3 chapters WOW… I really have no words, except thank you! **

**So… do I have a shot at getting to 50 reviews by the time chapter 5 drops… I guess I'll just have to wait and see, but there is my challenge to all you loyal readers and reviewers. 50 reviews, is it possible? No pressure…**

**Disclaimer- Glee is fun although I don't own it, New York is fun even though I don't live there, escorts well… I'll leave that question hanging, and lesbian sex I still have no clue, but I'm open to someone explaining it to me. ;) ;) So again I know and own nothing except my wicked thoughts.**

Dancing Around Each Other

**Santana's POV**

I walked to the bar to make myself a drink while Brittany talked with a few of her friends by the stereo. I silently thought that things were progressing nicely between her and I and in fact, I was actually starting to have fun. Brittany was finally starting to relax a little and I could feel her becoming more and more comfortable with each passing minute. Once she loosened up, I came to realize she was actually quite funny, which surprised me. Although, I still wasn't quite sure she actually meant to be funny when it happened.

"Hi"

I looked up from my drink surveying the man from which the unidentified voice had come from. "Hi" I responded back looking at him curiously. I could see him checking me out, but not in the normal I want to fuck you kind of way.

"You look incredibly familiar…" he said straining and squinting his eyes to get a better look "have we met before?"

"I don't recall" I said truthfully, although there was something about him that looked somewhat familiar.

"Hmm…" he said as I watched the wheels turning in his head "Do you live in the building?"

"No, I live uptown" as I looked away trying to discourage this conversation.

"God, you look so familiar…" he said scrutinizing my appearance "I'm Dave…"

"Santana" I reluctantly and curtly responded taking his outstretched hand. He did look familiar, but I could have seen or met him anywhere and frankly, I really didn't care to think about it too much.

"So how do you know Brittany?" he asked still looking at me hard.

"I don't… we actually just met tonight." I said trying to keep my answers short since I really wasn't interested in this conversation and hoping he would get the hint and give up.

"Hmm…" he said again "I don't know where it could be from then…?"

He wasn't getting the hint. Which was frustrating. At this point since he wasn't letting it go, I figure I would throw him a bone in the hopes that he would figure it out, and I could get back to Brittany "I'm a bartender at The Inferno," I said thinking this was tedious "I sing at a few bars and coffee houses around the city and I've also done some modeling… does that help at all?"

"What kind of modeling?" he asked looking interested

"Well… mainly small print stuff, but I was part of the public health campaign. I was the model for practice regular flossing" as I flashed him a large, fake, look at my teeth smile.

He chuckled a little in response "No… I don't think that's it…"

"I don't know what to tell you then" as I turned away to scan the crowd of bouncing dancers currently dancing to LMFAO's Party Rock Anthem.

"I'll probably figure it out as soon as I walk out the door… isn't that what always happens?" he said causing me to turn back around to see him smiling at me.

"You leaving?" I asked feeling obligated and a little hopeful.

"Yeah… I have somewhere else to be, but I just wanted to come by and wish Brittany a happy birthday"

"That's nice of you" I said before looking back towards the makeshift dance floor.

"Well… it was nice meeting you Santana, or meeting you again… whatever the case may be…" he said as he turned to head in the direction of the main door.

"Bye" I said out of courtesy as he disappeared into the crowd. Now, to find Brittany I thought as I headed towards the dance floor.

I looked around at everyone bouncing to the music; it was difficult to find anyone through the crowd that was huddled tightly together. That was until I saw a flash of bright blonde hair briefly catch my eye. "HOLY SHIT" I thought and possibly said out loud as the crowd separated just enough for me to spot the blonde dancing in the middle of the group. Sexy Chick by David Guetta was playing and I couldn't help thinking how perfect this song was for the blonde who obviously had some amazingly sexy moves.

I stood off to the side with my mouth probably hanging embarrassingly low, watching the blonde move. She moved so easily to the beat of the music, perfectly on time to every change in tempo. I thought, God if she can move like that on the dance floor I can only imagine what this girl can do in the bedroom. With that thought running wild in my mind, once again I felt my body temperature rise and a burning begin deep within my core.

Her long, lean, and perfectly toned legs seemed to glide across the floor, effortlessly. I wanted to memorize her every move as my eyes scanned every inch of her body trying to cement it to memory.

She had strong lean calves and thighs that seemed to go on for miles stretched from her ankles up her legs and finally disappearing under her skirt. With every step and bend of her body they would flex and constrict matching the changes in the music. I wanted to reach out and touch them; to feel her muscles tightening under my hands; I bet they felt amazing I thought picturing them wrapped around my body. I followed the line of her thighs up higher to where they disappeared under her skirt and watched as her skirt became shorter and shorter as it steadily inched higher up her thighs. Each bend of her knees revealed a little more skin and I silently thanked whoever created that piece of clothing.

The skirt was still fully covering her ass, but I could tell just by her size and the muscle definition in her legs that she probably had a great ass as well. And judging by the way she moved it, it didn't much matter because no matter what… her ass looked hot.

The song continued with its steady rhythm while Brittany matched her movements to the tempo. I finally pulled my eyes away from her gorgeous legs and brought them up to her upper body. The shirt she was wearing was showing off less skin than I would have liked given the direction my mind was running, so I was left to imagine what I would find underneath her blouse. Every dancer I knew had a great stomach and Brittany certainly didn't seem to be the exception to that rule, but instead of imagining what Brittany's stomach looked like I decided just to wait and see for myself; which hopefully wouldn't be too long of a wait especially given the way my body was responding to hers right now.

Her breast appeared to be slightly smaller than normal, but they were still breast none the less; so soft, warm and smooth and I'm sure they would still feel great once I had my hands and lips around them.

She was sexy, there was no denying it, but somehow she also managed to be cute and adorable as well. I wouldn't have thought that was possible if I hadn't been witnessing it for myself. The song continued and each time the chorus came around the words seemed to pop right out of my mouth as I sang in time with David Guetta "_damn girl."_

Once the song finished I practically had to pick my jaw up off the floor as I watched Brittany slowly walk towards me "_damn girl"_ I said again this time under my breath.

**Brittany's POV**

"Hey Santana" I said excitedly, walking up to the beautiful brunette.

"Wow…" she said looking at me with wide eyes, a surprised smile and slightly rosy cheeks "you can really dance!"

"I love it… it's the one thing I'm truly good at" I said with a small hint of sadness lacing the last remark.

"I'm sure that's not true" she said probably noticing the slap I made against myself "I'm sure you're great at a lot of things, but I do know one thing for sure…" as she raising her eyebrow to her hair line "you are without a doubt, the best dancer I have ever seen in my life"

I felt heat begin to radiate off of my cheeks in response to Santana's compliment as I tried to keep a hold of my composure that had been hanging by a string all night. Is there no end to my blushing, I thought?

"Thank you" I responded bashfully, trying not to look down.

"You look thirsty… are you ready for a drink?" she asked

"Sure…" I said realizing I was in fact very thirsty.

"Let's go find you a drink then…" she said grabbing my hand and leading me to the bar. I felt the same shockwave travel up my hand and down my body as I did when she first grabbed my hand hours ago, but it wasn't as shocking this time. It still sent a euphoric buzz through my body, but I didn't feel the urge to drop her hand this time; the opposite in fact… I never wanted to let it go.

"Do you want another glass of water?" she asked once we reached the bar.

"No, I think I'm ready for a real drink this time" It was nice that she was trying to be thoughtful, but I decided it was time to step it up a little. Besides I really hadn't drank all that much "will you make me one?" I asked

"Sure… what would you like?"

"Surprise me…" I said interested in what the Latina thought I would like.

"Okay…" she said looking at the options "I will…"

I watched Santana throw together a couple liquids not really paying to close attention to it since Sam had just come up to give me a big birthday hug; Sam is sweet I like him I thought.

Sam quickly walked away after the embrace and I watched Santana pushed the drink towards me as I gratefully reached out, taking the cup "What is it?" I asked

"Weed and lemonade…"

"WHAT…?" I said practically spitting out the liquid, shocked that she had made me a drink with pot in it "this has weed in it?" I asked pointing to my cup and wiping the dribble that escaped my lips.

"NO…" Santana said with a slight giggle "It's the brand of vodka; Jeremiah Weed… its sweet tea vodka mixed with lemonade"

"Ohhh…" I said slightly embarrassed as I took another sip "Ummm…" I purred "that's really good" finally getting to taste it this time.

"Glad you approve…" she said bowing slightly as I caught her eyes wondering back up the length of my body.

I took another sip of my drink and thought, wow… it doesn't even taste like there is alcohol in this thing as I continued to sip nervously.

"You wanna dance?" I asked hoping for the opportunity to get close to her and the chance to do something I was actually comfortable with considering conversation didn't seem to be my strong suit tonight.

"I don't know… you might be too good for me…" she said matter-of-factly "I think there is a very good chance I might embarrass myself if I dance with you" as I noticed hesitation creeping into her tone.

"I'm sure you'll be fine…" I said trying ease her mind "besides everyone will be looking at me anyway"

"WOW, someone's getting a little cocky…" she said with a giggle and a cute half smile "A few compliments and all the sudden you get a big head" I could see her weighing her options as she hesitated and attempted to add humor to the situation "but then again, I guess I can't really turn down the birthday girl, now can I?"

"Nope…" I said happily "I wouldn't be right"

"Okay…" she said smiling back at me "lead the way" as she gestured to the dance floor.

I could barely contain my excitement as I took her hand and started walking blissfully to the dance floor. This beautiful woman was going to be dancing with me; this is the best birthday ever I thought as we approached the middle of the room just as the song was about to change.

The new song was just starting as I turned to face Santana. She looked a little apprehensive which shocked me because all night she had been the picture of calm. I didn't think anything could make her appear anything less than cool and collected; I guess I was wrong. The music began at a slightly slower tempo which I silently thanked the big guy upstairs for since it meant that we would get to dance a bit more intimately. **Easy** Brittany, I thought as my mind wondered… you just met this girl and already you are thinking about intimate contact with her; what has come over me I asked? I knew the answer… I had a Santana fever… and for that I thought, I really hope there isn't a cure.

The song that came on was Jermih's Down On Me and I watched Santana look at my hips trying to get a feel for the music. She was a good dancer when she finally let loose ; not as good as me of course, but still she could definitely hold her own. We moved in time to the music as I watching Santana become more confident with each passing second. The space between the two of us was becoming less and less as the song continued and by the time the second chorus rolled around we were moving our hips together as one mirroring the lyrics to the song.

The feel of her body rolling and grinding into mine felt insane. I couldn't help the small moans escaping through my lips as I silently prayed that the music would drown them out. Our hands became bold, moving around each others bodies, discovering and testing where the boundaries lye. I placed gentle pressure into Santana's hips control our rhythm and pulling the Latina closer, wanting to feel her body pressed tightly to my own. Her warm breath hit my cheek now that our bodies and faces were merely inches apart. I looked into Santana deep, brown, blazing eyes, searching them… for what I wasn't sure, but the intensity of her stare caused my heart to falter and forced me to turn away under their weight.

My back was now towards Santana after her eyes had forced me to turn away. I realized she had found her rhythm and confidence because her hands were moving expertly down my body coming to rest on my hips. The feel of her hands sliding up and down my body sent my body into a frenzy of delightful tingling humming under the surface of my skin.

She was suggestively pulling my hips towards her so that my butt was coming in contact with her pelvis make it difficult for me to concentrate as she breathed heavily into my ear.

The song finished as a new one slowly began giving me a brief moment to catch my breath which had grown increasingly labored as our dance became hotter and hotter. The feeling of her body gently pressing into mine was intoxicating. My senses felt like they were on overload. The feeling of her hands touching and caressing my body as her breath tickling the skin behind my ear causing chill bumps to rise was turning my body into mush. I no longer noticed anyone else in the room, all that was left was her, and for all I knew… we could have been the only two people left on the planet.

Santana's arm slid around my waist, wrapping tightly, as her hand came to rest on my stomach. She pulled my body even closer, if that was possible, so that now our bodies were completely flush against each other. I felt her breast come in contact with my shoulder blades as butterflies began to flop around in my stomach in response to the new stimulation. With our bodies now scandalously close and her lips tickling my ear, I heard her quietly start to sing the words to the song.

_Tonight I will love, love you tonight  
>Give me everything tonight<br>For all we know we might not get tomorrow  
>Let's do it tonight<em>

O God… what have I gotten myself into I thought as the words sunk in.

Santana continued to sing on and off throughout the rest of the song as I felt my arousal settling inside my stomach and pooling in my panties. This could get embarrassing, I thought as the sound of her voice titillated my senses.

_I make you feel right, baby  
>Can't promise tomorrow<br>But I'll promise tonight_

She had a great voice; I'm not sure she meant it to sound as sexy as it did, but I was starting to find it difficult to stand upon my increasingly wobbly legs. It was a good thing she had her arm still wrapped tightly around my body or else I think I might have fallen as she sang the closing words.

_Excuse me but I might drink a little more than I should tonight_

_And I might take you home with me if I could tonight  
>And baby, I'ma make you feel so good tonight<br>'Cause we might not get tomorrow_

The song was over and she gently tugged on my hip forcing me to turn around and face her. I felt like my knees were going to buckle. The weight of my body felt ten times the norm. Her lips were merely inches away and I was overcome with the intense urge to lean in and kiss her…

"Get a room you two…"

Puck's word slowly registered in my head as I reluctantly and embarrassingly took a small step away from Santana and looked questioningly in the direction the voice had come from.

"If you two are done copulating in the middle of my living room, its time to take some shots" Puck said with a sly smirk covering his face.

I looked back at Santana. I watched her raise her eyebrows as if saying, it's your call.

I looked back at Puck and responded unenthusiastically since I wasn't happy about the disruption "Okay…" as I followed Puck to the drink table with Santana close behind.

"What do you want?" he asked looking at the two of us.

"O NO… no way are you making the shot. The last shot I took from you nearly killed me" I said looking at Puck sternly "Santana can make it…"

"Okay…" she said "so three shot's?" questioning, and looking at the two of us.

"Yup" I said whimsically

While Santana concocted the shot I looked at Puck who was looking back at me with a giddy smile on his face "What?" I asked

"Nothing…" he said with a smile that told me it was most definitely not nothing as he glanced away and quickly turned back and laughed.

"Here you go" Santana said passing out the shots and forcing my gaze away from a slaphappy Puck.

"Do I even want to know what this is?" I asked looking nervously at Santana.

"Just trust me…" she said smiling proudly.

"Okaaay…" I responded as we all held our shots glasses in the air before quickly swallowing the delicious mixture.

I licked my lips, tasting the liquid still on my tongue "What was that?" I asked "It was amazing…"

"I call it A Buttered Muffin" she said smiling mischievously and looking me in the eyes before taking a quick glance at Puck.

"I love buttered muffins" I said happily, licking my lips.

Puck and Santana both immediately burst out laughing "What…? What did I say?" I asked looking between the two of them, who were deep belly laughing at this point.

Their laughter was causing anxiety to rise at obviously not being included in the joke. "WHAT?" I said again this time a little louder trying to get a reason for their laughter.

Both Puck and Santana were pressing their lips tightly together, obviously trying to suppress their laughter.

Santana let out a muffled giggle and said "It's nothing… I love buttered muffins too" as the corner of her mouth curled wickedly upward, obviously still trying the curb her laughter as a final squeak spill over.

"Don't we all…" Puck responded with a crooked smile and a muffled laugh.

Puck slowly walked away patting Santana on the back and headed in the direction of Finn and Sam who were calling him over to take another shot with them while I turned to Santana with my hands on my hips trying to look as tick off as possible.

Santana just smiled and grabbed my hand "You're adorable when you pissy" she said sweetly as she leaned in and kissed me on the cheek.

"I'll tell you, or maybe show you later…" she said with a sexy wicked wink.

**AN: LOL… buttered muffin. I probably read this chapter at least 5 times proof reading and I laughed at the buttered muffin scene equally hard every time, so I hope you laughed as well. If anyone would like to concoct a Butter Muffin shot I would certainly be curious to know what's in it. (Hehe) And any guesses how Karofsky knows Santana? =D Its gonna get good… ;) ;)**

**But, on a more serious note… as far as this chapter goes I'm interest to know what you think. I had someone say after the last chapter that it was difficult to follow due to the many changes of perspective, but this one only had two, so I'm wonder if it made a difference in your levels of comprehension or enjoyment. So please let me know. It will only help as this story moves forward, so please don't feel bad if you tell me you had a hard time following the last chapter. And for those of you who love Puck's POV, sorry that wasn't included this time, it is definitely in the next chapter so don't worry. **

**Next chapter… I wonder if Brittany will get her muffin buttered? Glad I already now the answer. (hehehe) Sorry for teasing you all, that wasn't very nice of me. Also, am I the only one that thinks there is nothing funnier than a good muffin joke? =D Let me know if you ladies have any good ones because I find them to be hysterical.**

**Thanks for reading and again please give me your input, the review button is waiting for you.**

**Thanks again and take care!**


	5. Butter Her Muffin

**AN: YAY! I made it to 50 reviews. I'm doing a little celebratory happy dance. Be glad you don't see it! I'm no Brittany S. Pierce when it comes to dancing. To show my gratitude for all the love I've received I made this chapter extra long. Probably not long by a lot of people's standards, but definitely long for me. So you can thank **_**Saurus**_** #50 for giving everyone a little more Brittana action since I was feeling the need to give back. Thanks **_**Saurus**_**!**

**Again, I want to thank everyone for reading, but a special thank you goes to those people who have been reviewing practically every chapter. You guys are awesome! You keep me excited about this story. So thank you!**

**Disclaimer- Don't own glee although I wish I did, don't live in New York since its too frickin expensive, never had an escort not because their too expensive, but because in real life it's gross, nor had lesbian sex not because it gross, quite the opposite in fact, but because they don't seem to like my….. lack of ovaries (what'd you think I was gonna write? Get your minds out of the gutter people) so what the hell do I know.**

Butter Her Muffin

**Santana's POV**

Brittany was chatting with a few girls across the room as I took a few shots with Puck and two other guys whose names I couldn't remember at the moment at the bar. After the last tequila shot they started talking about baseball and from that point on I started to tune them out deciding that watching Brittany interact with the three girls would be more entertaining.

Occasionally, she would glance in my direction leading me to believe that she was talking about me. Which I couldn't deny stroked my ego a little bit because she was smiling as she spoke.

Puck and the guys continued to talk baseball as I picked up about every tenth word or so hearing things like Yankees, no Phillies, CC, no Halladay and World Series between glances back and forth with Brittany.

I had to admit that I liked this girl; I'm not sure how or why, but I have always liked a challenge and seducing a virgin would definitely qualify as a challenge so maybe that's the reason.

Maybe, its time I step this game up a notch I thought as I stared at Brittany laughing with her friends. My body was still buzzing a bit from our dirty dancing earlier and I figured now was as good a time as any to at least attempt a deeper kiss then the one we shared earlier in the kitchen.

I turned to look at the bar to make sure it had everything I needed to put my plan into action and was pleasantly surprised that it did; Puck really had thought of everything.

"Puck how many bedrooms do you have in this place?" I asked causing the guys to stop their conversation abruptly.

The blonde haired guy and the big goofy looking guy gave me confused questioning looks, almost like I had spoken Chinese or something.

"Two… why?" Puck asked pulling me away from his friends so they wouldn't overhear and looking at me quizzically.

"I think Brittany and I could use a little alone time"

"Get it girl" Puck said excitedly bobbing his head "Use the one back that way" he responded quickly as he pointed in the direction of what I hoped was a guest room.

I quickly grabbed what I needed from the bar table and was about to go get Brittany when I felt a strong hand grab my wrist. "Be careful with her…" Puck said looking me in the eyes with as serious a look as I had ever seen from Puck.

I wordless nodded my understanding before walking off towards Brittany and her friends.

**Brittany's POV**

I was trying not to be too obvious as I stole glances in Santana's direction while I was talking to Quinn, Mercedes, and Rachel, but I don't think I was being very successful since she kept staring back at us.

I explained to my friends about meeting Santana earlier and about feeling this instant connection with her and the longer I spoke, the more adamant my friends became in trying to encouraging me to go for it with the stunning brunette. "What do you have to lose?" Quinn asked

"With exception of her V-card… nothing" Mercedes added as the group giggled at my lack of experience.

"Lay off Brittany…" Rachel announced to the group trying to stick up for me which I was grateful for.

"Thanks Rach… at least one of my friends has my back" as I squinted at Mercedes trying to appear angry.

"Britt… It's not that…besides, we're only teasing. We all just want you to be happy" Quinn said thoughtfully "besides, I think she likes you…" as I followed Quinn's line of sight towards a smiling Santana.

"You think?" I asked excitedly and way more eager than what was probably appropriate.

"Well…" Mercedes said with a hint of a smile "I think you're about to find out because she's headed this way" causing all of us to turn in Santana's direction.

"Come with me" Santana said as she grabbed my hand leading me away from the group. I turned around to see the girls laughing as Santana ushered me further and further away. I turned back around to see where she was taking me, but got momentarily distracted watching Santana's long dark hair bounce around her exposed and perfectly tanned shoulders.

I could feel my anxiety level reaching new heights as we walked quickly through the crowd. Santana looked so determined as she led me through each room which also didn't help my steadily rising tension.

"Where are we going?" I asked as my nerves were starting to get the better of me as she pulled me towards the back bedroom.

"You'll see…" as she continued to stare straight ahead.

She opened the door and pulled me in behind her as she turned to close the door behind us. I looked around Puck's guest room trying to steady my nerves and slightly confused emotions before turning back to look at Santana, skittishly.

"What are we doing back here?" I asked as my stomach began to churn with intense fluttering and feeling the need to lye down to bring it under control.

She put down everything she had been carrying on the bedside table and slowly stalked towards me. "I wanted to wish you a proper happy birthday…" she said in a voice that was dripping with sexual innuendo and stopping only inches away from me.

"You already wished me happy birthday…" I said with my voice trembling and wishing I could be more sure of myself.

"No…" she said with a sly sexy smile "I didn't…"

My heart was racing at the pace of an Olympic sprinter imagining what Santana could possibly mean by her comment. Was she implying what I think she's implying I asked myself? No… she couldn't I thought; why would this beautiful, confident, sexy woman want to be with me. But, then again… why else would she bring me back here away from everyone else at the party. My brain was starting to hurt from thinking so hard and my body was turning to mush under Santana's intensely fixed stare. Lord, please help me through this I thought.

**Santana's POV**

She was nervous; that was obvious and completely understandable given her lack of experience from what Puck had told me. I'd been watching her most of the night and was finding increasingly hard to figure out what she would be willing to do given only knowing her for a few hours. At times she seemed so responsive, like the time on the dance floor and other times she seemed like any small touch would send her running for the hills; kind of like now. I'm going to have to take this slow I thought as I formulated my plan.

"I brought you back here for a 21st birthday right of passage…" I said trying to keep the mood light, but also leaving the question open as to what that right of passage was incase she wanted to take it further than what I was expecting from her.

She stopped breathing, I could tell, so this confirmed that my original assumption had been right; she's not ready yet.

"Body shots…" I said with a smile. I watched her finally let out the breath she had been holding before briefly looking back at the table that held the tequila, limes and salt.

Looking back into her eyes to gage her willingness, I saw a look that was a mixture of relief and a little bit of hesitation. I gently took her hand in mine as I stroked my thumb across the back of her hand in what I hoped was a soothing manor. "Would you like to try it?" I asked looking into her beautiful blue eyes trying to figure out this beautiful blonde that was confounding me.

I could see her weighing the options as I continued to look deeply into her eyes, silently pleaded with her to say yes.

"Okay…" she finally said meekly as she let out another deep whoosh of breath "what do I have to do?"

"It's easy…" I said feeling relieved and walking her towards the end table "All you do is pour a little salt on my body, have the shot ready and a piece of lime for the end. So basically it goes, lick the salt, drink the shot, suck the lime." I said trying to demonstrate as best I could.

I looked at her and could see the nerves still clearly there "Would you like me to do one first?" I asked feeling as though that might help ease her trepidation.

"Sure…" she said as her eyes darted back and forth between me and the bottle of tequila.

I poured two shots; one for me and one for her as I turned back around holding the salt and a slice of lime "Tilt your head this way…" I said as I helped her expose her collarbone and the nook of her neck.

I looked to her eyes one more time just for confirmation which she quietly and timidly consented. I gently pour the salt before confidently lean in to get my first taste of her body. My lips were the first to make contact with her heated flesh as my tongue quickly followed. I allowed my tongue to take a few slow licks while at the same time gently sucking to make sure I got all the bitter salt off of her neck and collarbone. The bitterness of the salt mixed with her own naturally sweet taste as I continued to suck long after what was normal. I reluctantly pulled my mouth off her warm skin as my tongue darted out to get the last of the salt off of my own lips before quickly downing the shot and sucking the lime.

"Yummy…" I said with a smile and trailing my index finger along my lower lip still tasting her on my lips and tongue "Now your turn…"

**Brittany's POV**

The feel of Santana gently sucking on my throat had felt amazing. It caused a new wave of different sensations to slowly burn under my skin; many I didn't even know existed. She was good; scratch that, she was REALLY good I thought… I hope she does that again.

Now picking up the salt shaker I tried to remember the order of how to take the shot. I really wasn't paying attention to her taking it since I was so wrapped up in the feel of her mouth on my skin. I hope I do this right I thought…

Just then I watched her move to the bed "here, this is easier" she said as she pulled the hem of her tank top up stopping just below her breast "put the salt on my stomach…" she instructed

She was lying on the bed looking up at me, expectantly. Suddenly I felt like my feet were hundred pound weights rooted to the floor. She looked incredible lying there with her firm abs exposed and ready to be touched.

Moron…? Move your feet I told myself! Thankfully, this time my body listened. I slowly lowered my body to the bed, sitting down next to her. I looked to her eyes briefly in the hopes that they would give me some confidence, which didn't really work; in fact quite the opposite. Lick, suck, drink or is it drink, lick, suck I thought finding it very difficult to formulate a coherent thought. CRAP… I thought silently kicked myself for not paying better attention.

"Remember… lick the salt, drink the shot, suck the lime" she instructed looking me straight in the eyes as if she had read my mind. Okay, got it… I thought as I turned my body to make it easier and more comfortable to reach her stomach, which in turn, caused the bed to creak awkwardly under my movement.

With my hand planted on the opposite side of her stomach for support, I carefully sprinkled a little salt just above her belly button. Trying not to think too much since it was becoming such an issue anyway, I leaned in and started licking. I felt her muscle tighten as soon as my tongue came in contact with her skin. Wow, they feel nice I thought as a new wave of butterflies started fluttering in my stomach. I continued to lick, not wanting to leave any trace of salt until I felt like I got it all.

I took the shot quickly and cringed as it burned my throat and stomach as I swallowed. The bitterness of the lime seemed to help as I gritted my teeth and lips around the small piece of fruit, hissing as I continued to suck.

Santana sat back up and let out a slight giggle with her smile "You're a pro…" she said looking back at me practically applauding "I couldn't have done it better myself"

Her compliment helped ease my nerves as the liquor settled in my belly. "Boy… tequila is awful…" I said wrinkling my nose and frowning. I could still feeling the after burn of the drink in my chest, but at the same time… I felt much better about myself. Somehow knowing that she thought I did a good job, helped ease my jitters.

"You got another round in you?" she asked with a smile 

"Sure…, but do I have to take the shot this time?" I asked not liking the way the last one tasted.

Santana giggled in response "It's kind of a big part in the process, but we don't have to do another one if you don't want too?"

"No, I want too" I said wanting another opportunity to kiss and lick her body and hoping that it hadn't come across too anxious.

"Okay good! It's my turn then…" she said happily as she poured two more shots.

"Sit down for me…?" she asked politely. I did as she instructed and sat with the pillows behind my back.

"Stick your chest out a little…"

I looked back at Santana with wide questioning eyes and hesitant again. I still following her command and pushed my breast towards her face, but I couldn't help feeling nervous and completely exposed. My cleavage was on full display now and I could see Santana staring at my breast. At least I'm not the only one who can't hold it together I thought as I watched her look between my breast and my lips. She stood up and at that moment I worried that she was going to walk away, but I was quickly relieved and surprised to see her gracefully crawling back towards me straddling my legs.

I wouldn't have thought that her staring at me with such intensity would have helped my confidence, but it did. It felt good to know that she desired me like that. After a moment of just staring at me she finally grabbed the salt and sprinkled a generous amount just above my breasts.

I could feel my arousal pooling and probably soaking my underwear. The anticipation of what was to come was killing me. It felt like an eternity was spent just looking back and forth between each other, sizing the other person up. Finally, she looked me in the eyes one last time and dove in. Small pleasurable moans started to escape her mouth as her tongue lapped at my chest finding every last grain of salt. This felt even better than what she had done to my neck. I wanted her to keep doing what she was doing and never stop. I didn't even realize, but my hand must have thought the same thing because suddenly, my hand was in her hair holding her head tightly to my chest. I quickly pulled back, dropping it to my side. I realized it wasn't exactly appropriate given the circumstance as I kicked myself for being so careless.

"Mmmm…" she said as sat back up before taking the shot.

**Santana's POV**

Her skin tasted so good; I couldn't pinpoint the flavor with the additional tastes of the tequila, lime, and salt, but whatever it was it had a sweetness to it. Next time I taste her I thought, I hope I don't have to compete with all the other flavors, I hope it's just her on my lips.

I sat hovering over her for a few moments after I had downed the shot weighing whether or not to lean in and kiss her, but deciding against it for now; that time will come I thought. I couldn't believe she had grabbed my head and held it to her chest; it had been a pretty bold move on her part. One that I really hoped she would repeat at some point. She was gaining confidence that much was clear and confidence in the bedroom was a must because there was nothing worse than someone who just laid there like a dead fish expecting me to do all the work.

"You ready for your next shot?" I asked making no attempt to move from my position straddling her legs.

"Sure" she responded a bit more certain this time.

"Where do you want me?" I asked curious to know how she would respond and what she would want.

Without saying a word she grabbed my waist and rolled us both over so now she was straddling me. WOW… I thought! I wasn't expecting that! With the new and unexpected position I felt my arousal starting to dampen my panties. She was still readjusting her hips above me. It was creating this intense urge to buck my hips up to meet her. I was craving the friction like a mad woman at this point.

Easy killer I thought… control yourself, you don't want to scare her; not when we are finally getting to the good stuff.

Brittany was no longer moving above me. I hope she's not getting nervous again. I like this assertive side to her. So I used my eyes to plead with her to continue. She looked at me and as our eyes connected, I saw no hints of hesitation. Her eyes mirrored the look of my own and that was a look of heated desire.

I watched her for a moment as she looked from my eyes, to my breast and back again. She was thinking, that much was clear. "Don't think…" I pleaded, trying to force her out of her mind and back to her body. Her body obviously wanted this as much as mine as I internally begged her to continue.

After a brief moment to process my words she hesitantly reached behind my back forcing me to push my chest towards her. That a girl I thought proudly, grateful that she hadn't reverted back in her shell.

Her movements were purposeful. She reached for the salt to shake the tiny plastic bottle across my chest. After applying a small amount she placed it back on the table and looked me in the eyes almost asking for permission to continue. "It's okay…" I said reaching up to cup her cheek.

She seemed to accept that as the encouragement that I meant it to be as she picked up the slice of lime. "I'll hold that for you…" I said deciding what my next step was going to be. I raised the piece of fruit to my mouth and bit into the outer husk exposing the juicy center to Brittany.

She looked confused, so I pulled the lime back out of my mouth and spoke "when you suck the lime use your mouth to get the fruit from my lips"

She blushed again as she looked down at our hips that were still molded together. Come on you can do it I thought willing her to continue.

After a few seconds of what appeared to be doubt she finally looked back up to my face and smiled brilliantly. I placed the lime back in my teeth happily, as she slowly and carefully attacked my chest. Her lips met my chest and I felt my breath catch in my throat. She wasn't moving skillfully, in fact it was kind of clumsy, but it still felt amazing. She was leaving a trail of saliva on my chest as her tongue glided and stoked my cleavage causing me to involuntarily buck my hips up to meet hers.

She continued to lick my chest trailing her tongue up the crease between my breasts even without there being any salt there. I forced myself to suppress the giggle that was threatening to spill over wanting to make sure I didn't discourage her in her exploration since it felt so good. As she finished with the last couple strokes of her tongue and before rising to take the shot, she culminated with a chaste kiss to the center of my chest. This action I found so endearing and sweet. This chick is incredible I thought as I watched her take the shot.

The shot went down a little more smoothly this time I assumed since there was very little reaction as she took it. The shot glass was still in her hand as she looked back at me. Her blue eyes met my pleading brown eyes as she slowly leaned forward connecting our lips. I pushed the lime forward with my tongue encouraging her to take the fruits bitter juices. As she sucked tentatively on the lime I began to move my lips slowly against hers, wanting so badly to feel her tongue glide against mine.

Starting to get impatient with the lime barrier between us, I reached for it since it was no longer of use. After pulling it from our mouths, I deepen the kiss. The feel of her lips sweeping against mine felt electric. My body was starting to rebel against my better judgment and take over in a fashion that I worried was too aggressive for her innocent reputation. Our tongues slid against each other discovering all the recesses of each others mouths and enjoying the new sensations that accompanied them.

The used slice of lime was still in my fingers as I pulled her ass tighter against my body, wanting so badly to feel her let go of her inhibitions. Her hands had yet to take action. She was still supporting her weight on the bed with her chest hovered above me. My upper body was heaving at this point, breathing deeply in and out willing and hoping to progress things further. Finally, if by sheer will she dropped the shot glass to the bed and brought her hands up to cup my cheeks thus forcing her body weight to land flush against my chest.

A deep guttural moan escaped my mouth as my hands kneaded the pliable skin on her hips. Finally feeling her body weight lying fully against my chest I smiled victoriously into the kiss. I wanted to take this further, flip her over, pin her to the bed and ravage her until neither one of us could take anymore, but I knew that was probably too fast. Instead, I continued with my slow and deliberate exploration of her rapidly breathing upper body. My hands caressed the skin that I could find, tugging and pulling her towards me.

Both of us were breathing hard as our bodies took control of what we both desired. Small moans and sighs of pleasure escaped her mouth causing the corner of my mouth to turn up in accomplishment knowing that she was starting to let go. "I want you… so bad…" I said hoping that it wouldn't scare her off as my lips attached to the warm skin of her throat.

I wasn't sure if it had scared her. She had yet to respond. Instead, she continued to moan and gasp in a manner that told me her body wanted exactly the same thing. The skin on her throat was salty in taste due to the previous shot, but I savored the taste and texture feeling her moving and grinding above me.

Still feeling unsure, but wanting to move things along I spoke again, breathing into her neck this time "Let's get out of here…" I pleaded in what could only me described as desperate. I grabbed the back of her head and gently tugging her hair causing her to throw her head back and unfortunately pull away slightly.

Her eyes were still closed as I took in her appearance. Her head was bent back and a look of pure ecstasy was etched on her face. This new position forced me to kiss and suck along her chest; although, I had zero problem with that. I wanted to rip open her shirt without any regard for the material, but knew that would probably get me no where. The moans that I was eliciting were loader and longer as I massaged her sides and attached her chest with my lips trying to progress things further.

I still had yet to get a verbal confirmation or refusal from her as to whether she wanted to take the next step causing me to grow weary as a result. Deciding to be bold and really test her resolve; I slowly and carefully reached between her legs and cupped her crotch. Oh my God I thought as my breath hitched and my hand molded to her hearted core. No longer being able to control my sexual appetite I gripped her harder, feeling the dampness just beyond my reach. As I cupped her somewhat forcefully she let out a ragged blissful yelp as she rolled her hips into my steadily moving hand.

"Let's go to your place…" I begged feeling confident with the responses I had gotten from her so far. I continued to kiss along her chest and throat while my hand and fingers grabbed and massaged her pussy.

"Okay…" she said pulled back separating our bodies.

Seeing the hesitation, but also the arousal clearly written on her face, I double checked "Are you sure…?" I asked, hoping for a yes.

"Yes! Let's go…"

**Puck's POV**

Mike, Finn, Sam and I were doing shot gun beers as I saw Brittany and Santana hurry past the crowd and out the front door. The shock of the moment caused me to drop my can, resulting in it spraying every which way when it hit the floor. I quickly picked it back up, covering it with my mouth trying to finish it as the liquid dampened and ran down my shirt.

"What the hell man?" Finn questioned looking at me annoyed as it sprayed him in the face.

I was coughing and sputtering trying to force down the free flowing liquid that was rebelling against my esophagus as the flow thankfully came to a stop.

"You okay…?" asked Sam looking concerned, but amused.

Still trying to quell the rising urge to regurgitate the beer that was stuck in my throat, I coughed out "Yeah…" as I cover my mouth in case I failed to suppress the steadily climbing liquid "I'll be right back" I said turning to head for the bathroom.

I shut and locked the door as I leaned in resting my hands on the counter. Looking down at the sink and glancing up at my reflection in the mirror, I leaned over and grabbed the hand towel to wipe my face, hands and chest.

Feeling somewhat clean, I leaned back against the counter and dropped my head in thought. She actually did it… she got Brittany to give it up! I wouldn't have thought it was true, if I hadn't seen the look of urgency in their movements and on their faces with my own two eyes.

When I brought the subject up with Santana weeks ago I never expected her to be successful within one night. That girl must have some serious game I thought thinking about how quickly she had worked her magic. I wonder what this means…? If they actually have sex that could ruin everything. Santana will treat it like a one night stand and never speak to Brittany again. O God Brittany as I shook my head in thought… please don't give it up yet. I know you are still in there somewhere, don't forget who you are just because your vagina is telling you differently.

She won't I thought, trying to convince myself that after all these years of waiting she wouldn't just give it up on a lark.

What have I done I thought dropping my head to my hands. Please Brittany… remember who you are… don't do this… not yet!

**AN: Sorry to throw ice water on you guys and finish with Puck's POV, but I felt the need to establish that sex the first night might not be the best thing for someone as innocent as hopefully I have painted Brittany to be. Not saying it won't happen anyway, but just putting that thought out there.**

**Next chapter we will see if Santana accomplishes her goal. Bum, bum, bum… buuummmmmm! And maybe Brittany will find out what a Buttered Muffin is…**

**Also, I'm super happy I got to add another love of mine into this chapter and that is the love of the Philadelphia Phillies. And by the way Puck… they are totally gonna win the World Series this year, sorry Yankees.**

**What'd you ladies think? I'm assuming ladies, I guess I could be wrong :$ Was it sexy enough for you? I have trouble with sexy scenes between these two. Not sure why, but I hope it worked.**

**Lastly, I have an important research question for you ladies, which I'm a little hesitant to ask… Since I'm a straight married man and I only really know one lesbian who happens to me my mother in law… (Yikes! She's scary) My question is what would classify as losing your virginity between two women? Is it any kind of sex? Like third base to use baseball terms? Because I know between a guy and a girl that would not be classified as losing your virginity. I certainly don't want to get too personal, I just didn't know and I am most definitely not asking my mother in law. (Double, no triple, no quadruple YIKES!) So if you would like to help a brother out for the benefit of the story; PM me so you don't have to leave it in a reviews, unless you want too. Please, I can't stress enough I'm not prying for personal information and I certainly don't want to offend anyone, just the facts if you are willing to help. Thanx!**

**Thanks for the help if you so choose and please feel free to review this chapter. It makes me smile when I get a review and my wife says I have a cute smile so she would be appreciative as well. :-)**

**Thanks as always for reading and take care!**


	6. The Next Step

**AN: Wow… the amount of support I got last chapter was amazing! Not just the reviews, but also the PM's that I received answering the virginity question; WOW you ladies are incredible. So THANKS YOU to everyone who answered; all of you were a HUGE help! I really am blown away with how thoughtful and helpful everyone has been to me and to this story. A special thank you goes to ****bubbaslilsis ****who has been an amazing sounding board when it comes to this story; you're Awesome… as in Captain Awesome! ;) And also, ****Sailor-chan**** who still has time in her busy partying schedule to answer my crazy questions LOL. And lastly, ****lacksubstance**** for being so encouraging through this whole process. I could easily name others, but the list could get very long so I hope they know who they are. Thanks ladies!**

**To all the non logged in reviewer that I didn't get to responded to, thank you for reviewing it means a lot. And Yankees ftw… I guess we'll see come October, who the best team really is… ;) Go Phillies!**

**Without further ado… Chapter 6 Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- I own nothing except my newly acquired definition of lesbian virginity. Even that is not solely my own; most of that information was borrowed (thanks ladies)!**

The Next Step

**Santana's POV **

Brittany and I were practically jogging down the hall once we left the party to get to the elevator that would take us up to her apartment. Every moment spent in this hallway was time that Brittany could change her mind, realizing what a horrible decision it was to have sex with a woman she hardly knew. Especially, when that woman happened to be someone who gets paid to have sex for a living; not that she needed to know that right now. Please, let this elevator be quick I thought as we waited for the elevator doors to open.

Taking advantage of the wait and trying to keep Brittany's mind free of thought, I slid my arms around her waist, pressing my chest tightly to her body.

"I want you…" I breathed out "right now…" as I licking the shell of her ear before biting her earlobe softly. Her body clenched within my arms as her eyes closed tightly clearly trying to suppress a moan that reluctantly escaped. Brittany leaned into my body for support as I tightened my hold. "I would take you…" I whispered "right here… right now, if I could" as I gripped harder, hoping my words and tone excited her.

My hands ran down her body to the tops of her hips as my fingers searched inching closer to her core. The reactions I was getting out of her were indescribable. She was incredible responsive at this point, moaning and wiggling within my arms. I bet she is the type of woman that orgasms multiple times I thought as my hands moved to her inner thighs, grabbing them and digging my nails into her delicate skin.

The sound of the elevator doors opening and the dinging bell brought back my need for urgency as I hastily walked us forward into the empty steal box. I turned her around and maneuvered her to the back wall forcing our interlocked hands above her head and pushing her up against the wall with my body. Stumbling in my fever I crashed into her with all my weight causing a deep breathy moan to tumble out of her mouth as our bodies collided with and urgent thud against the far wall. Needing to reconnect with her lips, I lunged forward pressed my lips roughly to hers, swallowing her moans in a sloppy tongue battling, moan inducing kiss.

"You are so hot and sexy right now…" I moaned after breaking apart from her lips and moving south to continue my onslaught on her throat. This induced another round of deep body rattling gasps from the blonde who was writhing under my touch "How much further?" I asked while kissing my way down the front of her shirt, wanting so badly to feel the tight, warm body that was underneath.

"We're…" she started to say as the bell dang and the doors opened.

Grabbing my hand she yanked me out of the elevator and pulled me towards her apartment door. For a second, I wondered if this was the right thing to do as my morality kicked in; Brittany is so sweet I thought as we hurried through the hall. Is this how she would want to lose her virginity? That thought didn't seem to last long as my body and hormones took over once we arrived at her apartment door, encircling her from behind, needing to be close to her and massaging her quadriceps.

Her neighbors could have been out in the hall for all I knew, but at the moment I didn't care, nor did I notice. The only thing I cared about was her getting that door open and getting her naked as quickly as possible.

**Brittany's POV**

With everything Santana was doing to my body, how am I supposed to think let alone manage to get this door opened I thought frustrated at not being able to find my keys and fumbling around in my purse.

O God this must be what it feels like to be set on fire I thought as her mouth glided along my shoulder and my hand frantically searched deep within my purse for my elusive keys. Got em, I thought happily as I finally found my keys deep in the bottom of my purse hidden under a bunch of crap. The keys jingled in my trembling hand, searching frantically for the key hole. Come on get in there I thought as I continued to probe hoping to find the elusive small hole as Santana grabbed and gripped my legs, breathing heavily into my neck.

Finally, I felt the key slide through as I turned it quickly pushing the door open. We rushed through the door impetuously tripped, stumble and almost falling before finally gaining our balance as Santana roughly kicked the door shut behind us.

In and instant we were back together, kissing, groping, and feeling our way through the darkness trying to make it to the bedroom without breaking anything. Not that it much matter because at this point I didn't care.

I felt Santana's hands pulling up at the bottom of my shirt and without thinking I allowed her to take it off raising my arms above my head, freeing my chest of the unwanted garment. Where it landed I had no idea, but in the amount of time it took for her to remove my shirt that was all it took before Santana's lips were locked back on my body continuing her discovering journey, searching for new territory.

For a brief moment I thought I should stop this. This wasn't right. Where was my common sense? I hardly knew anything about her. And she really didn't know anything about me.

But, as her lips joined mine, gliding and rejoicing in their expertise all rational thought dissolved and I was no longer able to think coherently. My body was running on autopilot at this point, really having no clue what to do, but allowing Santana to take me where she wished.

Santana skin was so soft and smooth and I wanted to touch, taste and discover every part of her having only gotten a brief glimpse during our body shots earlier.

Her hands were on my butt attempting to find the elusive zipper as we stumbled through the doorway to my bedroom with my skirt finally sliding to the floor. I hadn't even realized she found the zipper that's how quickly things were happening causing my mind to spin trying to find a rational thought.

We crashed on the bed in our vigor as Santana pulled us both up further into the center of the bed and began wildly exploring my body searching for any pieces of bare skin she could find. Her hands kneaded my bra covered breasts causing a new wave of arousal to swim through my body, dampening my panties as she continuing her attack of sloppy kisses along my chest and throat.

O God I thought… that feels good as she journeyed south trailing kisses down my stomach causing my abdominals to tighten and another new flow of arousal to flood my core. Groping, grabbing and tweaking my breast with her hands, she finally found her way to the hem of my panties kissing along the top before briefly looking down at the smiley face staring back at her in the center of my underwear. After a second look at the smiling yellow circle she looked back up into my eyes and sighed through her smile. Man… I wish I wore different underwear tonight I thought, watching as she smiled back at me.

Finally, without warning she reached down looping her fingers in the side of my underwear and started to pull.

"Wait…" I said grabbing at her hands to stop their movement "just wait…" as I finally realized what was about to happen.

She looked up at me with wide questioning eyes as I gripped her hands tighter preventing her from moving south.

"What is it… what's wrong" she asked sounding distressed and looking at me quizzically.

Sensing that she was no longer going to pull down I removed my hands from hers and brought them up to my hair, fingering it away from my face. "I-I…I need a minute to think" I said trying to find my mind, but finding it wasn't functioning properly.

Santana just stared at me, waiting as I struggled to gain my baring. My body was still burning with arousal as I pieced through what was left off my mind.

After what felt like forever, I finally found a small semblance of my better judgment and spoke "I can't do this…" I said dropping her eyes and looking away in embarrassment.

Santana dropped her head to the valley of my breast and sighed deeply. Her eyes were closed as I looked back at her sadly. "I'm sorry…" I said almost feeling like I was about to cry.

Santana stayed quiet with her eyes tightly closed, which made me feel even worse. At that moment I wanted to crawl in a hole and die.

"Don't…" she finally said with her head still buried in my chest.

That's it… I've gone and done it now I thought; she hates me, she's never going to speak to me again as a surge of tears prickled behind my eyes.

"Don't apologies…" she finished, raising her head from my chest "its okay…"

"What…?" I questioned, thinking I hadn't heard her right.

"Don't feel bad…" she said "I get it…" as my glassy eyes finally locked with hers.

I didn't know what to say… this was not the reaction I was expecting as I laid there shocked into silence.

"I'm sorry…" she said dropping her eyes in what appeared to be shame "I shouldn't have pressured you"

"No… I'm sorry!" I said jumping into the conversation "I wanted this, believe me I did, it's just…" I stopped not knowing quite how to finish the sentence.

"You're not ready…" she said finishing for me.

Now it was my turn to drop my eyes in shame "I'm sorry" I said again looking away.

"Stop apologizing…" she said tilting my head up to connect with her scorching brown eyes. "I'm not mad… disappoint yes, but not mad. In fact, I'm actually kind of in awe of your strength"

"Huh…?" I questioned stupidly not being able to come up with a more coherent thought than that.

"I told you earlier, not to let anyone pressure you… to know your limits and stick to them regardless of what someone else wants you to do and you did that. You are so much stronger than I would have been…" she said looking disheartened.

"How so…" I asked being completely floored with the direction this conversation had gone.

"If I were in your shoes… I would have had sex and I would have regretted it later. So I'm glad you stopped us. Sex is better when its two people who both want it. So selfishly, I want you to want it just as badly as I do, because it would be amazing."

"Hearing you talk like that… kind of makes me want it… " I said smiling and trying to act sexy.

"Don't tease me" she said with a trace of a smile and a tilt of her head "It's hard enough to pull back like this when I want you so badly"

Somehow, remarkably she had managed to ease my fears and make me feel desired all at the same time. This could have gone drastically different I thought. I hoped I haven't scared her away permanently because there was something about Santana that felt special.

I'm really not sure what compelled me to say what came next. Maybe it was that feeling that Santana and I could build something great, but for whatever reason I said it.

"Can I tell you something…?" I said hesitantly

"Of course…" she responded looking at me with a look that was hard to decipher.

Without hesitation I confessed "I'm a virgin…"

She looked…? I don't know, I thought as I waited for her to respond. Not really surprised, but like she was searching for her words. I held my breath and waited "It doesn't matter" she finally said meeting my eyes "I mean it matters" she rephrased appearing nervous "but it doesn't matter. It doesn't change anything."

"It doesn't…?" I asked trying to keep my emotions in check.

"No… it doesn't!" she responded looking into my eyes "I like you and I want to take your virginity, but not if you don't want me to take it. I have a lot of respect for you for speaking up. Too much respect to force you to do something you're not ready for. That couldn't have been easy for you to tell me?"

"It wasn't" I admitted sheepishly still unsure as to why I felt the need to tell her to begin with.

"Can I ask you something…?" she asked as her brown eyes pierced my blue.

I wordless and without reservation gave her the go ahead to continue "What do you say we take a step back. I mean I like you and I'd like another shot. Do think that maybe…?"

"I'd like that…" I interrupted happily, feeling extremely relieved that I hadn't run her off.

She looked relieved as well as her body sighed into my chest. Just then I realized the condition I was in as I quickly tried to cover myself causing her to giggle.

"You know… it's not like I haven't seen practically everything already" she said as her eyes seductively scan my body.

"I know…," as I continued to try and cover up "but…"

"It's okay…" she said smiling and kissing my shoulder "I should probably get going anyway" as she started to get up from the bed forcing me to leave my statement unfinished.

"You don't have to go…" I said kicking myself, hearing the desperation in my tone.

Santana turned back around and gave me a chaste kiss on the lips "Actually, I really should, I have a meeting with my boss tomorrow morning"

"On Saturday…?" I questioned out of surprise

"Clubs and bars don't stop on weekends" she said as if it was obvious while picking up her shoes.

"I'll call you…" she said turning back around and smiling honestly.

"Okay…" I said weakly, leaning up but still trying to keep my breast covered.

After she got her shoes back on she turned back around to face me "You're cute when you're embarrassed" she said smiling brightly and exposing her dimples. Santana leaned in and kissed me one final time before rising to her feet.

"I'll call you tomorrow" she said starting for the door

"I'll walk you" I said starting to get up not wanting to see her leave just yet.

"Don't worry, I can find it…" as she turned around in the door way "I wouldn't want you to drop your boobs trying to get up" she said as a cocky smirk rose on her face.

This caused me to tighten my hold on my breast even further as my blush returned full force. But, at the same time as she disappeared through the door a small content laugh also escaped hearing the front door click closed signaling she was gone. I slumped back into my bed completely at ease and deliriously happy, WOW… she amazing I thought, with a sigh. I can't believe she was that understanding and my Lord is she hot… I said in my head, thinking back to the way she fit in my arms. I think I could be happy with her taking my virginity I thought.

With that thought in mind I wondered over to my dresser, grabbed some clothes and readied myself for bed. As I slumped and relaxed into my sheets for the final time tonight I sighed contently "best birthday ever" I said into the silence before quickly passing out into peaceful and restful sleep.

**Puck's POV**

It was 8:30am and I just couldn't take it any more. Not knowing what had happened between Brittany and Santana was killing me. I'm not sure how many times I called Brittany between last night and this morning, but I knew it was a lot. And I REALLY didn't want to think about how many texts I had sent her. Good thing for unlimited texting I thought as I hurried up the stares not even bothering with the elevator to get to Brittany's apartment.

I finally made it to Brittany's door and began pounding with both hands on the hard wooden slab. Jesus Christ, open the door I thought as the sides of my fists started to ache absorbing the blows.

What the hell I thought… why isn't she answering the door? Maybe, they went to Santana's place? NO WAY… I reconsidered, Santana would have taken Brittany to the nearest place and I know that because that's exactly what I would do; quick and dirty, get it done.

Oh SHIT... I thought, clenched my eyes tightly thinking about Brittany and Santana having sex, quick and dirty. Once again I started pounding hard on her door as my stomach began to turn with anxiety. Come on, open up, please…

I heard a door open, but unfortunately it wasn't the door I wanted to open as I took in the sight of Brittany's matronly neighbor peeking out her door. The women looked at her watch and back up at me and scowled. "You got a problem…?" I questioned to the woman rudely.

She audible huffed as she turned quickly and slammed the door. Once again I resumed furiously knocking.

The door swung open and as a result I almost punched Brittany in the face not expecting the sudden movement of the door beneath my fist.

I quickly took in Brittany's appearance appraising her as Brittany spoke shaking me from my thoughts "My goodness… what's wrong with you? It's…" she said looking at her watch "8:30 in the morning"

I obviously woke her up; that was clear from her puffy eyes and disheveled hair. "Do you ever check your phone...?" I question slightly out of breath.

"Not when I'm asleep I don't…" she said making me feel a little silly since it was kind of obvious as she rubbed her tired eyes.

"Well, I've been texting and calling you all night" I said noting my desperation "what the hell happened to you?"

"What do you mean…?" she asked innocently

"I mean…" I said pushing her into her apartment and shutting the door behind us giving us some privacy "I saw you leave with Santana…"

"So…?" she question looking at me like I was some freak out of Ripley's Believe It Or Not Museum.

"So…" I responded getting pissed at her nonchalant attitude "What happened? And don't lie to me…" I said looking at her sternly.

"Nothing happened…" she said as if it were obvious

"WHAT…?" I practically yelled

"NOTHING HAPPENED…" she said yelling back "did you go deaf as well as crazy over night?"

I'm not sure what shocked me more… the fact that it appeared that nothing happened or the fact that she actually yelled at me, but whatever it was, I didn't care, I was relieved.

"Nothing happened…?" I asked one final time just too clarify while taking in a deep breath.

"Nothing happened" she said a bit more calmly this time which finally allowed me to release a sigh of relief.

"Oh, thank God…" I said looking to the heavens

Again, she looked at me like I was the world's craziest man. "I'm sorry…" I said looking back at her confused face "I just thought…" as I shook my head to clear my confusion and regret at not trusting her "it doesn't matter… everything's fine… I'm an idiot"

"What'd you think happened…?" she asked clearly still confused by my actions.

I wordless looked at her with my eyebrows cocked and hoping she would understand their implication.

"Well it didn't, so you can relax" she said easily picking up my meaning.

"I just worry about you is all…" I said feeling the need to explain especially considering I felt like a smuck since I basically caused of all this.

"And I love you for that, but you have to trust me" she said pleading with me.

"I do… I mean I will" I said feeling stupid for doubting her in the first place.

"Come here…" she said opening her arms and willing me into a hug that I easily accepted and desperately needed.

After a few moments I finally pulled away feeling a million pounds lighter and at the same time, incredibly stupid "I think I'm gonna go now… I'll see you hopefully when I wake up on Tuesday" I said turning to head for the door.

"Puck…" she said stopping me in my tracks "Thanks…!"

Her short, but incredible powerful statement made me chuckle through my smile "Anytime…" I said understanding completely what she meant as I once again turned to leave the apartment.

Once I was back out in the hallway, away from her doe eyed stare, I sighed. I was relieved, but in another way I was scared to death. This plan could blow up in my face big time I thought.

I need to talk to Santana I said to myself as I slowly walked back to my apartment in search of some much needed sleep.

**AN: Okay so chapter 6 is done. I'm not thrilled with this chapter and I can't pinpoint why. **

**I know I had a lot on my mind this week, and my focus sucked as a result, but hopefully my lack of focus wasn't too apparent and if it was… I'm sorry. So if you can spot the problem with this chapter please tell me because my brain is mush and I can't figure it out! I hope I'm wrong, but if I'm right… it's my wife fault. ;);) It's my excuse and I'm stickin to it! Please don't tell her I said that… our sofa is really lumpy and I have a bad back. :(**

**I think maybe I need a beta! So if anyone knows someone or is interested let me know. Truthfully, I'm surprised I made it this far without one. :$**

**What do you guys think? Are you happy they held off or are you ready to burn down my house with your torches? ;) Do you think Santana has feelings for Brittany at this point or is she just playing the part so she can get in Britt's pants? Find out next time… hehehe**

**Take care and please take pity on a very confused man and review even though I somehow manage to keep teasing you! Sorry, not entirely my intent… it just keeps happening =D**

**Thanks for reading! **


	7. Internal Struggle

**AN: First off, I would like to thank everyone who offered to be my beta. And another big thanks goes to those people who said I didn't need one. But, I think when you read this chapter you'll realize due to some fairly major (wonderful) changes in my writing, that I most definitely did. So, thank you "Captain Awesome" for being my new beta (I'm not sure if you want to be pimped, so I'm not mentioning your name until you give me the go ahead), you're "awesome."**

**Now, to everyone reading… enjoy chapter 7! I think you will find it easier to follow now that someone who actually knows how to write is reading it over. LOL!**

**Disclaimer- Glee is not mine, although the idea of Figgins' being a pimp is. So Ryan Murphy, whenever you need some new material, I'm available.**

Internal Struggle

**Santana's POV **

The annoying buzz of my alarm clock woke me after finally managing to fall asleep around 5am. Groaning, I rolled over and hit the snooze button. I was so tired, but I knew I had to get up. I had to be at Figgins' office in less than two hours. I rolled over, turned off my alarm clock and with an exhausted sigh, dragged my body out of bed.

Memories of last night quickly flooded through my mind as I tried to ready myself for the day. As I brushed my teeth, the feeling of Brittany's tongue on my skin distracted me, causing me to squirt toothpaste on my hand. As I did my hair, her soft warm lips preoccupied me, leading me to brush the same spot for more than a few minutes. The hesitant touch of her fingertips consumed me, causing me to put my shoes on the wrong feet.

'God… get over it' I thought, breathing out with an exasperated sigh and willing my thoughts away from the beautiful blonde.

Thoughts of her were the reason I didn't get any sleep last night to begin with, and now they still were making it difficult to get through the most basic tasks in my morning routine.

I came home relatively early by my standards and fell into bed quickly. But, as I began to toss and turn, I found sleep to be elusive as my mind just kept coming back to thoughts of Brittany.

I thought about taking matters into my own hands and masturbating to relieve the tension, but I decided against it. Sex wasn't about pleasure for me any longer and I was determined to make my situation with Brittany no different. Besides, even if I wanted it to be different, there was no possible way for it to work out. I wasn't worthy of feeling desired for anything other than my body. Who would willingly get involved in a relationship, sexual or otherwise, with someone who sold her body to anyone who could pay?

'This is pointless. I don't even know her, and I certainly don't have feelings for her' I thought, 'it's purely physical'. But still, I couldn't deny that meeting her had stirred something within me. It wasn't a feeling of love or even a feeling of lust; it was a feeling of hope. A deep longing for a life that was out of my reach and drastically different from the current hell I was living. A life in which I could meet a person, be interested in her and ask her out. A life without having to hide or lie about who I truly am; maybe it would work out, maybe it wouldn't, but at least I would have the freedom to act on that interest and find out for myself.

'It doesn't matter' I thought, shaking my head and feeling beaten down. 'I don't even know why I'm thinking about this. Until something changes, this is my life. I'm just going to go along with the plan. I'll help Brittany through her sexual inexperience and that's it. Besides, a girl like Brittany would never be interested in me if she knew who I really was.'

With my mind made up, my morning routine seemed to go by much more quickly. I managed to make it through breakfast without spilling anything, thanks in part to lack of thought of a certain blonde. But when I looked at the clock I realized I was still going to be late. 'Damn it' I thought as I grabbed my keys and purse and ran out the door.

I arrived at the bar at exactly 11am, which was a problem. Figgins' had told all of his girls from the very beginning, "You're on time if you're early. You're late if you're on time". That meant I was late arriving at 11am for an 11am meeting. 'FUCK…' I thought, as I waited at the bar nervously nursing a vodka tonic. Drinking this early was weird for me. I never drank this early, but I was hoping it would settle my nerves. Waiting to be summoned into his office by one of his beefy, dumb as a box of rocks bodyguards, was stressful.

While I was waiting my mind was trying to track the possible reasons for this appointment. All of the girls receive their appointments through the messaging service. The only time you ever had to come down in person was when you had either done something wrong, or you were getting a high profile client; neither of which I found to be particularly appealing.

"Santana…?" I heard off in the distance.

"Holly…?" I said once I turned around and spotted the tall leggy blonde, "What are you doing here?"

Before answering she consumed me in a tight hug, "I was about to ask you the same thing" she said after releasing me. She looked at me with a caring, curious smile.

"I have a meeting with Figgins'…" I said trying to hide my distain.

"Ahh… what'd you do?" she asked, probably assuming the worst, but smiling none the less.

"I don't know…" I said throwing my hands in the air with uncertainty.

"What about you?" I asked inquisitively.

"Oh… I just came down to pick something up… God, it's been forever since I last saw you" she said smiling at me and changing the subject.

"I know…" I said giving her a smile in return "It's good to see you. How are Will and the kids?"

"They're good! Will is still teaching, but enjoying being on summer break and the kids are great; their getting so big. You would hardly recognize them. Thomas is actually going to start kindergarten in the fall. Can you believe that?"

"Wow… has it really been that long?" I said trying to think back to the last time I had seen Holly with her family.

"I know…" she said looking a little shocked herself , "I think the last time you saw Thomas, he was still in diapers and Kaci wasn't even born yet."

"That's amazing…" I said feeling envious of Holly's outside life "How do you manage to balance all of that… with all this?" I asked as I motioned to the rest of the room.

"It's not easy," she said with a tired smile "but Will is an incredible man and he somehow manages to separate our family life from this life."

"That's incredible! He must be one of a kind." I said trying to be happy for Holly, but inwardly wishing that I could have a piece of that life for myself, "I can't think of anyone else who would be okay with sharing their wife with a bunch of strangers who are only using her to get off."

"It's hard for him sometimes…" she said looking solemn "but he knows what I do with these other people is just sex. It's not the same as what we share when we're together."

"You're really lucky…" I said feeling worse than when I came in, if that was even possible.

"What's wrong Santana?" she asked with genuine care, obviously realizing that something was bothering me, "You look like I just kicked you in the stomach."

"I'm fine… It's nothing" I said not wanting to get into it, since I really didn't know myself.

I could see Holly appraising me, trying to assess my depressing mood. I looked away cowardly, hoping she wouldn't be able to read my sad expression and see right through me.

"You met someone?" she questioned out of no where, forcing me to turn back towards her in surprise and see her giddy expression.

"NO…I haven't" I announced once her comment registered.

"Yes you have! Why else would you have started this conversation? What other reason would you have for looking like a kicked puppy once I started talking about my relationship with my husband?" she said looking smug.

I audibly sighed out of frustration "FINE… I met someone, but it doesn't matter." I said feeling defeated "Besides, I hardly know her."

"Well get to know her then…" she said as if it were that simple.

"I can't…" I spat out in anger.

"Why not?" she questioned loudly. "It worked for me, why can't it work for you?"

"Because Will must be the only person on the planet who can accept what we do. I can't expect that from her. He must be a saint."

"What, you don't think she's a saint?" Holly asked.

"She is…," I said without thinking, causing Holly's brow to shoot up immediately into her hairline with interest. "but…"

"Do you even realize what you just said?" she interrupted causing me to think back and leave my previous statement unfinished. "You just said she's a saint. I've never heard you talk about anyone like that."

"Holly," I sighed "you don't understand. You found the perfect person who is able to accept what we do. I can't expect that from her or from anyone for that matter." I said resigning myself to being alone.

"Maybe not expect, but it's okay to hope for that" she said taking my hand in an attempt to both sooth my fragile state of mind and force me to look at her. "Talk to her" she pleaded. "Maybe she really is the type of person who will understand."

"I don't know…" I said sighing, drawing my hands up to cover my face and trailing them down slowly before speaking again, "I don't think it's going to matter. I'm an escort. I know I wouldn't be able to accept that from a partner."

"Well, she's not you and I know one thing for sure… being an escort is not who you are; it's just what you happened to do. You were never a lifer. This isn't going to be your life forever. Make her understand!"

"Do you really think she can?" I asked weakly as a small twinge of hope started dancing in my stomach.

"I don't know…" she answered honestly with a slight frown. "I don't know her" as she shrugged her shoulders. "But, if she hooked you in…?"

"One night…" I answered with a roll of my eyes after realizing she was waiting for me to give her some sort of answer.

She burst into a fit of laughter, making me want to strangle her for getting enjoyment out of my misery.

"Well all the more reason to try… because she must have something special" she said once she quelled her laughter, even though a few muffled laughs still squeaked out. "If she can get you to think like this within one night… I can only imagine where you will be in a month. Probably, where ever it is, it's far away from here."

Holly started to walk towards Figgins' office after giving my shoulder a comforting squeeze. 'Maybe she's right' I thought, sitting at the bar dumbfounded by Holly's words. 'Maybe this doesn't have to be my life. Maybe I've just gotten so used to going through the motions that I've forgotten there is something more out there. I certainly don't know if Brittany is the type of person who will understand, but who's to say she's not… and I'll never know if I don't try.'

"Santana…" I heard Holly say coming from the direction of Figgins' office "How'd she hook you after only one night? Does she have chocolate flavored nipples or something?"

Her question caused a surprising belch of a laugh to spill out as I yelled back not even realizing where I was at the moment "No… she's actually a virgin."

This caused all of the eyes in the room to suddenly turn in my direction, causing me to slump lower into my chair, wishing I could disappear.

Holly laughed loudly again "Wow… that'll be fun" she said looking at me with amused, but friendly eyes. "I didn't think there were any virgins left in New York" she said as she walked through the door to Figgins' office, leaving me once again to my thoughts.

As I sat at the bar I made up my mind. I was going to pursue something beyond meaningless sex with Brittany. What that was I didn't know. 'I guess it kind of depends on her' I thought, as I pulled out my phone to send her a text.

**BRITTANY3 **outgoing**: Hey… I was wondering if u wanted 2 meet up 2morrow 4 dinner? How about my place? Hope u had a good bday and that ur feeling ok after last night. Let me know. - Santana**

After I hit send, I had a moment of doubt, but it was probably due to years of never taking chances. There was also this underlying feeling of something else; something that I couldn't quite label. It felt almost like nervous anticipation, mixed in with a little bit of hopeful optimism. It felt good!

Since I was so deep in thought I hadn't even realized Benny, one of Figgins bodyguards, had approached. "Figgins will see you now" he said in his deep, monotone voice.

'Great…' I thought sarcastically as I felt my phone vibrate in my hand. Without even thinking or worrying that I was keeping Figgins waiting, I eagerly looked at the new text message.

**BRITTANY3 **incoming**: Sounds great! Shoot me your address and the time. I had a great birthday thank you, although my head feels like it got bit by a shark. **

I quickly sent a reply, ignoring Benny who was still standing off to the side.

**BRITTANY3 **outgoing**: Great! How bout 7**? **I live at Hilltop Towers apartment 1052. Sorry to hear about your shark bite!**

As I hit send I looked back up to find Benny staring at me which deflated some of my glee. "Sorry" I said as I allowed him to lead me into Figgins' office trying to suppress my smile.

"Miss Lopez…" Figgins said while looking at his watch visibly showing his annoyance. "Have a seat."

I did as directed and couldn't help but flinch as the door clicked shut loudly behind me.

"Have you no clocks in your home, Miss Lopez?" he said barely looking at me since he appeared to be preoccupied with a big breasted blonde who was shoving her tits in his face.

"I'm sorry," I said trying to keep my voice from breaking and trying not to be distracted by the disgusting image in front of me "It won't happen again" I cowered.

"It better not!" he said finally looking away from the blonde that was sitting on his lap "If I didn't have a very big client for you, you better believe there would be serious consequences to pay. However, we can't very well have that beautiful body of yours marred with bruises, so I'm going to let it slide this once."

"Thank you sir…" I said feeling relieved "I promise it won't happen again."

"Glad to hear you're not stupid Miss Lopez" he said looking back at the blonde who was stroking his chest. "Have Benny cut you a check when you leave so you can get yourself a nice new watch. Clearly, the one you're wearing doesn't work and we can't have this happening again."

I looked down at my watch. He has barely looked at me since I walked through the door, how did he know I was even wearing a watch? 'Whatever…' I thought.

"Thank you sir, that's very kind" I said, not wanting to turn down his offer for fear of upsetting him further.

Figgins' didn't have a commanding presence; in fact, if you were to see him on the street you would probably think he was wimpy or strange. Now that I think about it, he kind of reminds me of Mr. Chow from the movie Hangover. None of that mattered though; he could make things happen, so I knew better than to cross him.

"Now that we got that out of the way…" he said groping the blonde's probably fake breasts, "I have a new client for you. Tomorrow night… and he is very high profile so discretion is a must."

'Tomorrow night' I thought, wincing at the date.

"Is there a problem Miss Lopez?" he asked, not even glancing away from the blonde.

"No! Of course not." I said through gritted teeth, wondering how he knew that I wasn't pleased with this turn of events "I'm just going to have to change some plans I made, that's all."

"Great…" he declared as he pinched the blonde's nipple through her shirt, eliciting a moan and causing the blonde to throw her head back in what appeared to be pleasure; although, I was sure it was fake. "It's nice to hear that you have your priorities in line Miss Lopez. Now, make sure you see Benny on your way out and the details of your date will be posted though the service" he said signaling the end of the conversation.

"Oh and Santana…" he said, causing me to halt my attempt at getting up from the chair and surprising me with the usage of my first name "make sure you don't screw this up…"

I nodded my understanding and made my way out of the door, sighing when I felt the door catch behind me.

'FUCK…' I thought, as I looked to the heavens wishing for guidance. I felt my spirit fall through the floor. Now I had to call Brittany and cancel.

Trying to rebound, and hoping for the best, I decided that it didn't have to change things as I worked through my thoughts and feelings making my way down the hall. I'll just call her when I get home and postpone a day. I can still test the waters on whether she can accept this lifestyle when I see her hopefully on Monday.

I left the bar, seeing Benny on my way out and started my drive home.

Once I got home I saw the blinking red light on my machine indicating that I had received the plans for my date. I decided not to listen to it right away. I wanted to call Brittany first so that I wouldn't get distracted or lose my nerve.

I looked through my contacts and hit send.

"Hello…" I heard her say on the other end of the line.

"Hi Brittany, it's Santana…" I said as I flinched at hearing how weak I sounded.

"Hey Santana, I wasn't expecting to hear from you again today" she said, sounding a little excited and pleased to hear from me.

"Yeah… I'm sorry, but I have some bad news about tomorrow night. I'm going to have to postpone. Unfortunately, I have to work now. How bout Monday instead?" I asked optimistically, speaking way too quickly to sound anything but flustered.

"That's fine! I'm looking forward to it!"

'Ahhh…' I practically sighed out loud, but somehow managing to hold it in. I was thankful that the change in date wasn't a problem for her "Great!" I said feeling tremendously relieved and finally relaxing a little. "What kind of food do you like?"

"I'm easy…" she said, causing me to smile at the double meaning she probably hadn't intended. 'That sure isn't what it seemed like last night' I thought, but decided to let that smart ass response die on my lips, figuring it was best to let it go.

"Okay…" I said trying to move on "did you get my address?"

"Yup" she replied happily.

"Okay great, I will see you Monday night then."

"Sounds good…" she said sweetly "Bye."

'Phew, maybe things are looking up for me' I thought, as I put my phone down on the table and walked over to play the message on the machine.

'Maybe not…' I thought as my shoulders slumped, listening to the plans for tomorrow night.

**AN: I know this was a filler chapter, :( Sorry! It was necessary so I could further the story and not just make it into a smut piece. (Although, I think we all know smut will be included as well) **

**I hope people don't mind that this chapter was a little different, particularly the fact that it's totally from Santana's POV. Again, necessary evil to further the story, but hopefully the developments that did occur will make everyone happy. Know that the changes in POV will be back again next chapter. :D**

**Question for you- Would you ladies like to see other POV's outside of Brittany, Santana and Puck? Because I had an idea for a future chapter that would include someone else's POV. Not saying who, but I guess you'll find out if you tell me you're interested.**

**Take care as always and thanks for reading!**

**The review button is just below. Click it, it doesn't bite! :D**


	8. The Date

**AN: Hello all! I'm back with a new update. Thanks again, as usual for all the reviews. (Only 2 away from 100) I certainly never expected to get to that point, so thank you! (I wonder who's gonna be lucky 100, whoever it is, I have a PM fist bump for ya! Incentive? I think so…) ;);) Anther fist bump goes to bubbaslilsis for being my beta. You really are a Saint for willingly taking on the project that is my writing! THANKS! **

**Also, wonder of wonders I'm still getting alert. (YAY!) Welcome aboard to all the newbies! I hope you enjoy chapter 8. I'm really happy with the way it turned out!**

**Lastly, EVERYONE make sure you read the warning for this chapter before continuing. Have fun!**

**Warning****- This chapter contains physical violence. Nothing too graphic, mostly it's up to your imagination, but never the less, it's there. So you've been warned! Continue if you wish.**

**Disclaimer- Don't own Glee or Chuck, but I do own an awesome Jeffster t-shirt.**

The Date

**Brittany's POV**

The terrace at the Ninth Street café was great for people watching. People from all walks of life went about their daily business as I took in the sights while waiting for Quinn. Some people were enjoying the day; others hurrying home from work, but everyone seemed to be moving with a purpose.

New York was great in that respect. It never stopped. On any given day, at any given moment, a new opportunity could arise that could change your life forever. You just always had to be ready to grab it.

"Hey Britt…" I heard, causing me to turn around seeing Quinn walking towards me. "I hope you haven't been waiting long?"

"No, not long." I said cheerfully, "Besides, there's plenty to see" I replied as I nodded towards a street performer juggling fire and balancing on a wobbly board.

Quinn glanced at the juggler, looking on with amazement. "Yeah, I guess so…" she said before turning back and embracing me, saying hello.

"So did you have a good birthday?" Quinn asked after sitting down and placing a drink order with the waiter.

"I had a great birthday!" I responded happily, thinking back to Puck's party and my night with Santana.

"So what happened with that girl?" she said snapping her fingers and searching for help with the name.

"Santana…" I aided

"Yeah Santana, what happened with her?" She asked excitedly, begging for the story with eager eyes, "I lost track of you once she pulled you away."

"Well…," I started, feeling slightly uncomfortable about what had happened once Santana and I left the party, "we made out…" I said hesitantly.

"That's it?" Quinn questioned with a look of surprise.

"It was without our clothes on." I finished, since it seemed Quinn wanted more information than what I had given her.

"YOU HAD SEX!" she stated loudly, causing all the tables around us to look in our direction.

"No…" I clarified, looking around at the customers who either looked appalled with our conversation or interested in an extremely creepy way. "You think you could have said that any louder, I don't think people in New Jersey heard you?"

"Sorry" Quinn said grimacing and looking around at all the stares from the people around us.

Trying to focus and avoid thinking about all the glaring looks, I thought about Friday night. 'The only way to describe it was… amazing, incredible or what could have been, potentially very stupid'.

"We didn't have sex," I said after working through my thoughts and embarrassment over Quinn's outburst, "but let's just say… I let it go a lot further than I probably should have."

Quinn groaned, "I know how that is…" she said, looking upset over her past mistakes.

"Oh, Quinn I'm sorry… I didn't mean…"

"Stop…, don't you dare feel bad." Quinn interrupted, trying to ease my need to apologize.

"It not your fault that I regret my first time" she said looking downtrodden.

My heart broke looking at Quinn. 'She deserved to have her first time mean something. Note to self, kick Puck in the balls when I get home'.

"If it makes you feel any better… I know he regrets the way things turned out. Puck's had a lot of one night stands…"

"Brittany…" Quinn interrupted, probably not needing that reminder.

"Sorry!" I said wincing "I just meant, out of all those women… and there have been a lot. You are the only one he has ever expressed any type of regret over the way it ended."

"Really?" she questioned looking hopeful

"Really" I responded, hoping it would help ease her feelings of regret.

Quinn appeared to take that as a small conciliation, that at least she wasn't just some number in Puck's rolodex of women. 'Maybe I should encourage Puck to try again with Quinn. It seems like they both want things to be different. Maybe I can convince Puck to swallow his ego and not be such a jerk this time. I think Quinn's interested', I thought to myself.

"Well…" Quinn said forcing me out of my thoughts and plans to play Cupid for her and Puck "at least you didn't go through with it, unlike me."

"I'm actually really surprised I let it go as far as it did. It's so unlike me." I said thinking about how out of character I acted that night "But, somehow Santana understood when I stopped things and even when I told her I was a virgin".

"Wow, you actually told her?" Quinn stated

"It kinda surprised me too," I said chuckling and thinking back, but still coming up empty on why I felt the need to tell Santana in the first place, "but I'm glad I did. She actually asked me over for dinner tomorrow night."

"That's great Brittany, I'm happy for you" Quinn said excitedly.

"Thanks!" I responded

The rest of our dinner passed without much fanfare. I found out that Sam and Mercedes also hooked up at my birthday party and that Kurt was dating some new guy Blaine, but that was about it.

After dinner, Quinn and I walked back to our building and said our goodbyes before going our separate ways. It wasn't late, but I was pretty tired anyway, so I decided to skip going to see Puck for the night and just headed home to curl up on the couch to watch a DVD.

I decided to resume watching season 2 of Chuck. I plopped down on the couch after getting the DVD set up, settling in for the night. 'I'll have to remember to thank Artie for recommending this show' I thought.

I had already made it through two episodes tonight and it was hilarious as usual. Currently, I was watching Chuck vs. the Best Friend, my third episode of the night. Jeffster was singing Africa by Toto to the rest of the Buymore staff and I couldn't help but laugh at the duo's antics. Despite it being hysterical, my thoughts still drifted to Santana, 'I wonder what she's doing at work?'

**Santana's POV**

"No!" I screamed, terror and anger blazing within me. I struggled to break free of his grasp, crawling to get away, but unfortunately I didn't make it very far. I felt something hit me hard on my back, burning and leaving an immediate bruise. I cried out in pain and held my hands over my head to protect myself.

"Don't you dare try that again, whore!" he warned, yanking me up by my hair. He let go long enough to push me brutally back into the wall before I felt the world go black.

Feeling disoriented and fighting to regain consciousness, I strained to open my eyes. I sobbed once, the sound and effort tearing my throat apart as I touched the throbbing spot on my head. When I pulled my hand back I watched a small drop of blood run down my finger. My mind was cloudy and nothing seemed substantial. I was aware of my head injury from when he threw me against the wall, but unfortunately I could do nothing to prevent it. He had been too strong.

My legs wobbled when I stood and I fell a few times when I tried to walk, so I gave up and started to crawl on my hands and knees. I crawled to where I saw my purse, its contents littered across the floor. Picking up my phone once I reached my bag, I dialed my emergency contact.

"Yes" I heard on the other side of the line.

"Come get me" I groaned before collapsing back on the floor in a heap.

XXXXXXXXXX

The room was quiet and the darkness was gradually fading. Slowly I opened my eyes and tried to focus on the blurry images around me. 'I'm in my bed' I thought, but confusion over how I got here was clouding my mind and a wave of nausea hit me. I knew to quickly get to the bathroom, but my throbbing head and aching body were making it difficult. I threw my legs over the side of the bed, clutching the edge for support and carefully rising to my feet. It felt strange to have my feet under me. I walked slowly, using any piece of furniture to aid my balance before opening the bathroom door and moving towards the toilet.

I vomited into the spotlessly clean white bowl. My stomach was empty; there was nothing left except the acidic bile rising in my throat causing dry heaves to rack my body. The heaves caused sharp lances of pain to stab through my abdomen. Unable to stop myself, I sobbed once. A thick tear streaked down my cheek falling into the toilet bowl, mixing with the few bits of regurgitated food.

Wiping my mouth with my hand, I struggled to lift myself to the mirror above the sink. Gasping from the extreme effort, I finally leaned against the sink, my stomach pressing into the porcelain counter. When I could breathe again without feeling as if shards of glass were being driven into my flesh, I lifted my eyes to the face in the mirror.

The woman I saw there was a stranger. Her lips were busted and swollen with dark circles around her eyes. Stepping back, I lifted the hem of my shirt to reveal a network of bruises covering my midsection.

Abruptly, the door swung open, startling me, "What the hell are you doing? You should be in bed", Tina said grabbing my arm and ushering me back into my bedroom.

"I felt sick" I justified as Tina helped me back under the covers.

"You should have called me to help you." she said, worry lacing her tone.

"I didn't even know anyone was here" I responded clutching my sheets to my chest. "What happened?" I asked trying to think back to the previous night.

Tina sighed and looked at me almost like she was in pain "You called Lauren. She found you and brought you back here. Don't worry, the doctor has already come and gone. He said you have a slight concussion, but nothing's broken."

Starting at the beginning I began to recall what had happened on my 'date'. I knew from the message on my machine that it wasn't going to be the normal garden variety date. Anytime kinky shit got thrown into the mix there was always a chance that things could turn dangerous, but this certainly was above and beyond anything that had ever happened to me before. You hear horror stories about girls getting the shit beat out of them in this business, but you learn to push that fear aside and just hope for the best.

Figuring it was pointless to try and remember the details, I thanked Tina. "You didn't have to take care of me last night, but thank you."

"Please…" she said pushing my modesty aside, "You're my friend, we look out for each other."

"Thanks" I replied, feeling grateful that I had someone who cared about me.

"Lauren, Sunshine and Holly were all here earlier. They had to leave because Sunshine and Holly both had clients tonight and Lauren was running security for Holly. They all wanted me to give you their regards."

"Wait… how long have I been out? What time is it?" I asked, rubbing my head to clear my confusion.

"The doctor gave you pain medication last night that knocked you out. You've been unconscious for about 20 hours. It's… almost 7 now."

"Wow… I guess I've been out for awhile?" I said feeling the fog starting to clear.

"Yeah, you had us all worried"

"Sorry" I said sheepishly, feeling like a burden.

"Don't worry about it. You'd be there for me." Tina said with a smile

"You're right. I would, but thanks anyway."

"Stop getting all sentimental on me, I barely recognize you as it is…" she said with a laugh and gently nudging my shoulder.

*Ding*

Confused at the sound of the door bell, both of us wrinkled our brows and looked at each other.

"Ahh…" Tina said after realization dawned on her, "It's probably Lauren. She said she'd be back later. I'll go get it."

Watching Tina leave the room and working through my foggy memory, I began to recall the previous day. 'Where did it all go wrong?' I asked myself as small pieces started to come back to me.

Just then I remembered. 'SHIT' I thought as I threw the covers off of my body.

Considering all my ailments, I got out of bed quickly and hustled to the front door. "Wait…" I said just as Tina was opening the front door.

Immediately, I had two pairs of eyes locked on me, brown eyes looking confused and blue eyes looking horrified.

I could feel all of the blood drain from my face. My limbs grew weak and there was a throbbing behind my eyes. Suddenly everything went black.

**AN: OMG… what's gonna happen? (hehehe) I WANT to apologies for leaving you hanging on the cliff, BUT… I'm really not sorry! ;) Find out next time… (hehehe) **

**I know I'm gonna get flamed for teasing yet again, but you know what they say, "It's all about the teasing and not about the pleasing" or is that the other way around? *scratch, scratch, scratch* I can never remember. ;) ;)**

**What I will apologies for is the length of this chapter. I know it's a little short; SORRY!**

**But, on the positive side of things I'm hella happy that I got to include my love of Chuck (the TV show not the person) in this chapter. If you've never seen Chuck, you're missing out. It comes back October 21, check it out. You won't be disappointed!**

**Curious to know what you guys think; you know what to do… **

**Drew55, signing off**

**Thanks for reading!**


	9. Brittany vs the Truth

**AN: Hey everyone, sorry this chapter took a little longer to get out, but life is kickin my butt right now. Make sure you read the authors note at the end for information on future updates. Don't want to hold you up any longer since I left you with such a cliffhanger last time. Enjoy!**

**Warning****- I have nothing to really warn you about. I just felt like upping my word count and I was too lazy to remove the warning after last time. :D**

**Disclaimer- Glee makes a lot of money and I don't. Therefore, I don't own it! Teachers really should be paid more don't you think? See what you guys can do about it and get back to me. It's all about the Benjamin's after all. ;)**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Santana's POV**

*Ding*

Confused at the sound of the door bell, both of us wrinkled our brows and looked at each other.

"Ahh…" Tina said after realization dawned on her, "It's probably Lauren. She said she'd be back later. I'll go get it."

Watching Tina leave the room and working through my foggy memory, I began to recall the previous day. 'Where did it all go wrong?' I asked myself as small pieces started to come back to me.

Just then I remembered. 'SHIT' I thought as I threw the covers off of my body.

Considering all my ailments, I got out of bed quickly and hustled to the front door. "Wait…" I said just as Tina was opening the front door.

Immediately, I had two pairs of eyes locked on me, brown eyes looking confused and blue eyes looking horrified.

I could feel all of the blood drain from my face. My limbs grew weak and there was a throbbing behind my eyes. Suddenly everything went black.

**And now Chapter 9- Brittany vs. the Truth**

**Brittany's POV**

"Oh my God…" said the women who opened the door as she ran towards Santana who was now crumpled on the floor.

All I could do was stand in the doorway, stunned! 'What in the world is going on?' I thought, as I watched this stranger tend to Santana who appeared to be unconscious and covered in cuts and bruises.

"San!" the woman yelled while lightly shaking Santana's shoulders "Wake up! Santana… can you hear me? Open your eyes."

Santana agonized, groaned and began to painfully squirm.

"Santana open your eyes. Look at me!" yelled the woman "Come on, that's it, open your eyes." Santana still had yet to come around, but with each word from the dark haired women, she seemed to be inching closer to consciousness. Santana's eyes began to flutter open a few times before drooping back closed. She began writhing in pain as the other woman held her close.

"Hey you…" she announced.

I was so caught up in my thoughts and the image in front of me that I barely noticed the words suddenly being thrown in my direction. "Me?" I asked faintly, pointing at my chest.

"Of course you. Go get me some water" the woman ordered.

I was in shock. I couldn't move as I watched Santana shift painfully in the woman's arms.

"NOW!" she yelled.

I gasped and my muscles pulled taunt at the intensity of her tone. I wanted to speak and respond, but I couldn't; all I could do was take off running in the direction of what I hoped was the kitchen.

After retrieving a bottle of water, I quickly ran back into the foyer to find that Santana had finally opened her eyes. Her eyes still looked extremely heavy, but they were open and I was choosing to take that as a positive sign.

"Here" I said handing over the water.

The other woman was trying to get Santana to drink some water, but it wasn't working. In fact, more water was trickling down her face than into her mouth. 'This is not happening' I thought, while watching the Latina try and focus on the water bottle in front of her.

"Maybe she should sit up." I said wishing there was something more I could do.

"No, we don't wanna move her yet. She could pass out again. Just talk to her while I put her feet up."

"Okay…" I said hesitantly.

"Santana," I said knelling down beside her and taking her hand "Can you hear me? It's Brittany."

"Br-Brittany…" she said weakly.

"Yeah… hey" I said as my heart stuttered, hearing the sound of her fragile voice. "Can you squeeze my hand?" I asked looking deeply into her clouded brown eyes. Santana's friend was busy trying to prop Santana's feet up with a few pillows and I began to stroke her cheek. "You passed out, but you're gonna be okay" I said after feeling a light squeeze on my right hand.

"Keep her talking" instructed the women after getting Santana's legs elevated.

"Wow…" I began, trying to come up with things to talk about, brushing some hair away from Santana's face. "You really know how to make a girls heart stop" I said, trying to make light of the traumatic experience, more for me than for her.

"What happened?" she asked, closing her eyes and touching her forehead trying to understand what was going on.

"Relax," I responded, cupping her cheek, "You're okay. You just fainted, but everything's fine. Do you remember anything?" I asked trying to keep her talking.

Santana raised her free hand again and gently ran it across her clammy forehead, trying to think. 'Phew' I thought as I watched the beautiful woman, covered in unexplained bruises slowly start to come back to life.

"I-I remember being in bed…" she said before balking and clenching her eyes to slowly continue, "and hearing the door bell ring…"

"Yes…" I prodded, hoping to keep her going.

"And I think I must have gotten up too quickly because when I got out here… I felt really weak."

"Santana you should have stayed in bed" the other women announced "I was answering the door… you didn't have to get up."

Santana looked towards the woman standing by her feet. "I'm sorry" responded the Latina "I didn't mean to scare you guys" she said, as she looked nervously between the both of us.

Watching the interaction between the two women, it was clear that they were close. 'I wonder what kind of relationship they have.' I thought as I watched the two women wordlessly converse.

The other woman was staring intently at Santana. "Why don't we try to get you back in bed" she said, "It's time for your pain medication anyway. Do you think you can move without passing out?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling better now" she replied.

The other women and I grabbed Santana carefully under her arms, pulling her back up to her feet before slowly making our way back to the bedroom. Once we got Santana secured in her bed the pain medication quickly began to take effect because within no time Santana had fallen into a peaceful, deep sleep. 'How did this happen?' I thought as I watched Santana in bed. 'Who could have done this to her?'

"We should let her sleep" I heard the other women say, indicating that it was time to leave the room.

"I guess you're right" I responded, after taking one last look at Santana and following the woman out of the bedroom.

We both let out huge sighs of relief as I shut the door behind us. "Thanks for your help" she said once we were far enough away from Santana's bedroom so the Latina wouldn't be disturbed.

"No problem" I responded, "I'm Brittany by the way."

"Tina" she followed up, arching her eyebrow and asking, "Sorry if this sounds rude, but may I ask what you're doing here? I don't think I've ever seen you before."

Her tone was a bit harsh, unlike her previously sweet disposition "Oh… Santana and I had a date tonight" I said, blinking in surprise at the sudden shift in Tina's behavior.

"Hmm…" she replied "I didn't think she was working tonight."

"No…" I said shaking my head in confusion. "She wasn't, that's why we had a date. She invited me over for dinner."

"Ohhhh…" Tina said drawing out the word strangely. "Well, I'm not sure if you want to stay or…"

"I'm going to stay" I interrupted, thinking that at least if I was here, Santana would know I was concerned about her.

"Okay… whatever you want." Tina replied. "Actually, it's good that you're here. I have to run out for a little while. Are you gonna be okay here by yourself?"

"Sure, I'll be fine" I said.

Tina explained Santana's medication and pointed out the basics; bathroom, kitchen, TV and told me she would be back later. "Oh, Tina…" I said, trying to catch the young Asian woman before she ran out the door. "How did this happen, I mean all the bruises? How did she get them all?"

Tina looked conflicted, "I think that's something you should talk to Santana about. It's not really my place" she said before turning and walking out the door.

After hearing the door shut behind Tina I took the opportunity to look at my surroundings since with all the craziness I had yet to really see Santana's apartment. It was nice, really nice in fact, 'I wonder how she affords this place on a bartender's salary?' I thought, walking room to room. Each new room I discovered new hidden treasures; pictures of Santana and little accents that said _I'm Santana and this is my house_.

'She must have good taste,' I thought 'this place is perfect.' It was nicely furnished in a contemporary sort of way with expensive electronics scattered and placed perfectly. The bathroom and kitchen were pristinely decorated with small accents of chrome and granite against the pure white walls. 'Gosh, I wish my apartment was this nice' I thought, finally making my way back to Santana's bedroom after doing a once over around the main living area.

Stopping at her bedroom door, I took a deep breath. Slowly and carefully, trying not to make a sound I opened the door. The hardwood floor creaked as I shuffled across the room to a chair against the far wall. I looked back at Santana after slowly lowing myself into the chair to find that she was still asleep, resting calmly, tucked into the safety of her blankets.

'What kind of monster could hurt her like this?' I thought, squinting and trying to get a closer look at her bruises. I studied her for a few moments, looking at all her visible injuries wanting to reach out and sooth them. 'They look bad' I thought. 'I think I'm gonna be here awhile.' With that thought in mind I grabbed a pillow and curled into the chair, ready to put in whatever time was necessary to make sure Santana was okay.

**Santana's POV**

When I woke for the second time I noticed my room was much lighter. Everything still hurt like hell and my head was pounding, but I wasn't overcome with nausea or dizziness like before. Stretching carefully so I wouldn't cause myself further pain, I looked around.

'BRITTANY…' I thought, squinting in surprise at the sight of the innocent blonde sleeping in my chair. 'What is she doing here? Oh my God, she can't see me like this' I thought, starting to panic.

'What am I gonna do?' I thought, lying in bed, trying not to move and fearing that any small crinkle of the sheets might wake the sleeping blonde. 'How can I get out of this' I thought, lying as stiff as a board and trying to think of ways to avoid what would undoubtedly be a very difficult conversation should she wake up and see me like this.

'Dumb ass…' I said in my head. 'Clearly she already knows I'm injured, she's here after all. I gotta come up with a cover story. She can't know the real reasons for these bruises. What type of story would Brittany believe? I got it' I thought, my brain running a mile a minute. 'I got mugged! Yeah, that sounds believable. I was walking home from work and a couple guys jumped me, stealing my purse and roughing me up. That happens everyday in New York. It's not hard to believe.'

With my cover story decided, I slowly tried to get out of bed to go to the bathroom. As I removed the sheets the cool air hit me and I shivered.

"Santana…" I heard, causing me to stop walking suddenly.

Turning hesitantly on one foot, my eyes locked with hers. Immediately, I was overwhelmed by the clarity in her crystal blue eyes. They looked so innocent, almost childlike, and once again I started to feel a little light headed under their weight.

Brittany stood up from the chair quickly, dropping the pillow and hurrying towards me. "Here let me help you" she said, placing a gentle hand around my waist guiding me towards the bathroom.

"I think I got it from here" I said feeling awkward, standing together in the bathroom.

"Oh… right" she said, turning quickly and shutting the door.

After taking a few cleansing breaths, trying to will the dizzy feeling away, I looked to the mirror to see my haggard reflection. 'My God, I look horrible' I thought, touching a few of the bluish, purple and slightly yellow spots on my face. I wish I could hide in this bathroom and wait for Brittany to leave or my injuries to heal, whichever comes first, but I knew that was wishful thinking. 'No use putting off the inevitable' I thought, turning away from the mirror and trudging back to my bedroom to get what was coming to me.

Opening the door carefully, I immediately saw Brittany pacing around the room, biting her fingernails. Upon turning and seeing me padding back in, she again met me, encircling her arms around my waist and helping me back to bed.

"Oaww" I groaned, catching my foot in the sheet causing my abdominal muscles to torque painfully.

Cringing, Brittany asked "are you okay?"

Clutching my bruised ribs and wincing at the stabbing pain, I lied "I fine, it doesn't hurt that bad."

"Can I get you anything?" she asked optimistically "Water? Ice? Medicine? Something to eat?"

"Some water would be…" and before I could finish, she was running out the door 'nice' I thought, finishing my statement in my head.

In the blink of an eye she was back carrying a bottle of water. "Here" she said handing it to me.

"Thanks" I responded, smiling at her breakneck pace, but looking away after finding it hard to hold her intense blue eyed stare. Just glancing at her eyes I could see all the questions she had. Questions I really didn't want to answer; some of them I probably didn't even know the answers to.

Trying to summon all my courage and placing the bottle of water on my bedside table, I finally looked at her. She looked so scared and agitated, like she wanted to pounce on me, but was too nervous to move.

I wanted to comfort her. Promise her that everything was going to be okay. 'Don't worry' I thought and began to say, but at the last second I chickened out. I couldn't be sure everything was going to be okay. How could Brittany possibly understand that I got the shit kicked out of me because some guy liked to role play and took it too far?

Brittany was looking at me so intently and with so much care, I almost felt naked. And I know I felt completely unworthy of her adoration. 'Can I lie to her?' I asked myself.

"Santana, what happened?" she asked, genuine concern written on her face.

**TO BE CONTINUED**

**AN: Ugg… another cliffhanger. I KNOW… I'm a tease, I'm evil, I suck, I got it! Sorry, but again… it is what it is! I think it's good for the story and I like suspense. ;)**

**I know this is lousy timing after what I just said, but like I indicated in my authors note at the beginning… life is kickin my butt. I just went back to work (I teach) and compound that with everything else I do (that I won't get into), but unfortunately my writing has taken a hit due to my lack of time. Have no fear I won't abandon this fic and I will do my best to get out updates as often as possible. It's just not going to be every 3 or 4 days like it was early on. I just don't have that kind of time right now.**

**But, I do have some really exciting/unexpected news that goes along with my lack of time. It hasn't added to my lack of time yet…, but eventually it will. My wife and I found out that we are expecting our 3rd child. So needless to say that changes a few things. One thing I know for sure life comes before fanfic so I gotta deal with what I gotta deal with and then what's leftover I will devote to finishing this story. **

**Thanks for reading as always! And I promise I won't leave you dangling on the cliff too long. I am working on chapter 10 as we speak.**

**Feel free to offer congrats, but I would much rather you send money. With a 3****rd**** child on the way it's clear I need it! ;)**

**Love you ladies! Don't forget I love reviews. Thanks again for reading and take care!**


	10. The Jig Is Up

**AN: Hi all… I'm back with a new update. Sorry for the wait, but hey… I warned you ;) and I did meet my goal of getting this update out before hurricane Irene hits so…. I'm getting ready to hunker down with the family wish me luck. **

**Thanks again to everyone who is reading, reviewing, alerting, favoriting and recommending this story. It's amazing to see people from all over the world reading what I'm writing. So thank you! A special thank you goes to bubbaslilsis for her beta work. You've taught me a lot and not just about writing ;) so THANKS! And another big thanks goes to everyone that offered their congrats on the newest TBD addition to the Drew family. My wife and I are really excited so THANKS for all your kind words! **

**Now moving on to what's really important to you all… I've decided to slightly reformat from now on by adding "Previously on Playing With Fire" to the beginning of each chapter so everyone gets a little refresher since my updates will less frequent as this story moves forward. So if you don't need the refresher and want to skip it scroll down until you see "And now Chapter 10- The Jig Is Up" that's where the new stuff begins. Let me know if you like "Previously on Playing With Fire" or you think it is just a waste of time. I would be happy to take it or leave it based on your opinions.**

**Hope you enjoy Chapter 10- I've made it extra long since the last two were kinda skimpy! Happy Reading!**

**Disclaimer- I own no part of Glee. The only thing I own is the hope that these two crazy kids can work it out in season 3 and they don't graduate. Come on Ryan Murphy make it happen. You and I both know Sue could fail them both out of spite! ;)**

**Previously on Playing With Fire **

**Santana's POV**

Just glancing at Brittany's eyes I could see all the questions she had. Questions I really didn't want to answer; some of them I probably didn't even know the answers to.

Trying to summon all my courage and placing the bottle of water on my bedside table, I finally looked at her. She looked so scared and agitated, like she wanted to pounce on me, but was too nervous to move.

I wanted to comfort her. Promise her that everything was going to be okay. 'Don't worry' I thought and began to say, but at the last second I chickened out. I couldn't be sure everything was going to be okay. How could Brittany possibly understand that I got the shit kicked out of me because some guy liked to role play and took it too far?

Brittany was looking at me so intently and with so much care, I almost felt naked. And I know I felt completely unworthy of her adoration. 'Can I lie to her?' I asked myself

"Santana, what happened?" Brittany asked, genuine concern written on her face.

**And now Chapter 10- The Jig Is Up**

**Santana's POV**

'SHIT' I thought as I stared into Brittany's pleading blue eyes. I was hoping to at least have a little time before jumping into to this conversation, but I guess that was too much to hope for.

"Oh, this…" I said smiling, trying to act nonchalant. "It's nothing, I was just stupid, that's all."

'Well… it wasn't a lie' I thought, 'I was stupid.' Somehow over the last few years I fooled myself and thought something like this couldn't happen. 'I was tough; I could handle anything, nothing bad was going to happen to me. I guess I was wrong.'

"Santana…" Brittany sighed "this…" she said motioning to my face and body, "is not nothing. I know you can't get these types of cuts and bruises from falling down the stairs. You can tell me what really happened. You can trust me. I'm a good listener."

'God, I want to tell you' I thought. It seems like it should be so easy. It's just three little words after all: I'm an escort. The thing is, anytime I try to let someone in and show them who I really am it comes back to bite me. My parents couldn't understand when I told them I was a lesbian. Past girlfriend couldn't understand when they found out about my job. 'How is Brittany any different from any of the others?' I thought.

"Santana," Brittany said startling me from my thoughts, "I can see that you're struggling. It's okay, you don't have to tell me if you don't want too, but I hope you do. I just want to get to know you. Maybe I can even help."

Her words seemed sincere which made me feel even worse about my original plan to lie. 'God, I want to have faith in you. I want to tell you the truth,' I thought, but for what felt like the hundredth time, I hesitated.

"Brittany…, really I'm fine." I said trying to reassure her in the hopes that we could move on, but as the words left my mouth they only made me feel worse. Now I felt like a coward on top of everything else.

Brittany looked dejected as she sighed and looked away, causing me to cringe.

"Santana," she said turning back towards me and looking at me seriously, "I obviously can't make you tell me what's going, nor do I want to pressure you to tell me something you're not ready for, but believe me I know how hard it is to open up and expose yourself to someone. Do you think it was easy for me to tell you I'm a virgin? Because it wasn't, but something just told me that you would understand and I hope you know that whatever it is you're keeping inside, I will do my best to understand too."

I allowed her words to sink in. I could honestly say that I'd never met anyone like her. She was my polar opposite in every way; honest, virtuous, caring and kinda peculiar in a completely adorable way. 'Maybe that's the difference between her and everyone from my past. Maybe that's the reason I seem to trust her and want to tell her the truth' I thought.

"Brittany," I said shaking my head "I want to tell you, believe me I do, but your virginity is actually something you should be proud of. What I'm hiding is definitely not and I'm afraid if I tell you it might change how you see me."

Brittany's look told me that she was hurt by my admission and she took her time before she spoke again. "The fact that I should be proud of it doesn't make what I told you any less difficult" she finally said. "In both instances it's about taking that leap and opening yourself up to someone. It's hard because you're leaving yourself open for rejection not because it's something to be proud of or not. You were amazing when I told you I was a virgin. Let me return the favor. Oh and by the way, I can't imagine there's anything that would change how I see you" she said offering one last thought.

I had to bite my lip in an effort to suppress the swell of emotions. Her words seemed so genuine and again my confession almost slipped from my lips, but once again I stopped. "Brittany…" I said pausing to compose myself, "I will tell you I promise, but I think I just need a little time to sort out what actually happened within my own head first. I'm really tired and I'm still in a fair amount of pain. Do you think we can continue this conversation later? Is that's okay?"

"Of course that's okay! Like I said I don't want to pressure you. I'm willing to wait till you're ready."

"Thanks…" I said feeling relieved.

The fact that our roles had somehow been reversed within a matter of days was not lost on me. A few days ago I was trying to help guide her through the physical aspects of a relationship and today she's trying to help guide me through the emotional. 'Maybe we could both learn something from each other' I thought.

"I guess I better get going then." Brittany said starting to rise from the bed. "Let you sleep an all."

I didn't want her to go. Something about Brittany for lack of a better word felt _right_, and I knew if she walked out that door I might never tell her the truth. "Wait…" I said grabbing her hand, turning her around before she could leave my side. "Don't go…" I pleaded. "I want you to stay."

She looked at me strangely, and I momentarily got nervous thinking my inability to come clean was pushing her away, but after what felt like an eternity she smiled. Her smile was one of the most beautiful things I have ever seen. I couldn't help the sigh of relief that escaped my lips knowing she wasn't going to walk away. Her bright blue eyes clearly showed happiness as I gently tugged on her hand to encourage her to sit back down beside me.

This was the only way I could show her that I was trying to open up. It was the best I could do for now. It surprised me how much her opinion of me mattered. It was always difficult to tell someone about my job, but never had I been so worried about how someone would take the news. I didn't care most of the time, but this time I realized that I did care what Brittany thought and it terrified me.

"Will you lay with me?" I asked pulling back the sheet slightly.

Brittany looked conflicted as her eyes darted to look at the raised sheet before returning her gaze to my bruised body.

"I don't want to hurt you" she responded apprehensively.

"You won't…" I said looking deeply into her soft blue eyes, "I promise."

After the statement left my mouth I realized that was a lie. She could hurt me, maybe not physically like she was worried about, but judging from the emotions that were threatening to bubble to the surface, definitely emotionally.

Putting that thought aside I carefully scooted over, encouraging her into the space I was leaving open for her. "Please…" I said noticing her hesitation.

The corner of Brittany's mouth turned up as her eyes looked to the ground before kicking her flip flops off and making the move to join me under the sheet. I scooted a little further into the center of the bed giving her more room, but she didn't take it. It felt like there was an ocean of space between us. It must have been difficult balancing on the very edge of the bed.

"You can come closer if you want" I encouraged, not liking the distance between Brittany and I. Plus I really didn't like the fact that my aching body was preventing me from pulling her close myself.

I felt the bed dip as she inched closer. Once she was close enough so that I could feel the lightest hint of her body behind me I scooted back into her. It was like backing into a brick wall. Her body was so tightly clenched behind me.

"Relax…you won't hurt me" I said, reassuring her and reaching back for the hand that was lying on her hip and pulling it to my chest. I could feel her snuggling into my back, molding her hips to my butt and settling comfortably into place.

It felt good to be lying safely in someone's protective arms. The weight of her arm draped over my stomach definitely made the pain from my ribs more noticeable, but I didn't care. This felt good and the pain was certainly not enough to make me want to leave the safety of her arms.

Within no time I drifted off to sleep.

**Brittany's POV**

Santana's breathing had been even for quite some time. I don't think I even breathed for the first hour or so for fear of hurting or waking her, but the longer she slept the more at ease I began to feel. Her slightly smaller body seemed to fit perfectly against mine and about an hour ago I had finally summoned up enough courage to run my fingers up and down her side. A couple times I thought I had woken her, but I was quickly relieved to find out it was just small intakes of breath being sighed out as I continued to lavish her body with feather light caresses of my fingertips.

'I can't believe anyone could hurt someone like this' I thought, rising onto my elbow to look at her serene face. She looked so peaceful sleeping and without thinking I bent forward, placing a soft chaste kiss to her cheek.

I guess that little bit of contact was enough to stir the sleeping beauty because as soon as my lips left her skin she began to shift and open her groggy eyes.

"Brittany…" she questioned almost like she expected to find someone else.

"It's just me" I said softly, laying a reassuring hand on her hip to try and keep her from moving. I was concerned about her pain, not wanting her to move too much and make it worse. "You're okay. It's just me." I whispered into her ear.

She relaxed back into the embrace and if possible tucked herself even closer. The gesture was almost enough to make me feel content enough to sleep myself. 'Almost' I thought.

"How'd you sleep?" I asked.

"Mmm…" she sighed. "Really good all things considered" she said as she pulled my arm even tighter to her chest.

"You make me feel safe somehow" she admitted, causing a swell of pride to rise within me. I was glad I could offer her at least a small level of comfort considering what she had been through.

"I'm glad I can be here for you" I replied honestly. Although, I still wished I could do more for Santana. "Is there anything I get you?" I asked whispering it into her ear gently.

"No, I'm good. I'm more than happy just to lay here with you" she cooed.

We laid like that for a little while, just relaxing into the comfort and silence of having the other person near. It was nice being able to wrap myself around her. She was so warm, and somehow I felt this overwhelming need to protect her from whatever had harmed her.

"I'm sorry…" I said knowing that was all I could really offer her. "I'm sorry some mean person hurt you."

"It's not your fault Brittany" she responded. "It's mine" she said finishing after pausing for a moment.

"How could this possibly be your fault?" I asked. "No one has the right to hurt someone like this."

"Maybe…" she said trailing off.

"No maybe's about it…" I said sternly.

"Before you continue… "Santana said interrupting shifting painfully around within my arms to face me. "You don't really know me Brittany... I chose this."

"You chose to get beat up?" I asked not understanding how that was even possible.

"No, but I chose what caused this" she replied. "Brittany…I'm…" she hesitated again freezing momentarily "a-n escort" she uncharacteristically stuttered out.

"So…" I responded not seeing what the big deal was. "I use escorts all the time. How else do people get around the city if they don't have cars or don't like the smelly subway?"

"Wait…." she said looking confused "huh?"

"Escorts drive me around all the time. In fact an escort drove me over here last night. I will say, you don't seem like an escort. Every time I ride with an escort I always feel like I want curry for dinner when I get out of their cars."

"Brittany…" Santana said drawling out my name "Those are taxi cab drivers. They're not escorts" she said looking at me strangely.

"Then what's an escort?" I asked, struggling to think what an escort could possibly be.

There was silence for awhile and I could tell she was thinking. I only prayed that my confusion wouldn't cause her to lose her nerve and revert back to not wanting to talk about what had happened to her.

She was no longer looking at me which I didn't think was a good sign. Her eyes were darting back and forth between our bodies and everywhere else around the room. 'Please let me in' I thought pleading with my eyes.

Finally after a very long and painful silence she spoke, "Have you ever seen the movie Pretty Woman?"

"Yeah" I replied, unsure of where she was going with this.

"Well, Julia Robert's was an escort" she said.

"Santana…I don't think Julia Roberts drives a taxi."

"NO…" she said covering her eyes frustratingly with her hands. "Being an escort has nothing to do with driving a taxi." Before continuing she paused and sighed again, "Do you remember how Richard Gere's character hired Julia Roberts in the beginning to be his date and then gave her money to have sex with him?"

My eyes focused wide and my mouth fell open as realization dawned on me. "Ohhhh…" I said in response as my brain began to process the new information. 'Whoa, I wasn't expecting that' I thought, fumbling around in my mind for an educated follow up.

Before I could come up with something to add, Santana spoke. "Now you see why this is my fault?" she asked.

"No" I responded without thinking.

"Brittany you don't get it" she huffed clenching her eyes out of frustration.

"NO Santana, you don't get it" I said looking at her sternly. "I see what's going on here. I'm not stupid and no matter what you do, no one has the right to hurt you like this. If you believe you deserve this or caused this in any way than you're the stupid one, not me."

"Brittany…" she began, looking shameful. "I'm sorry if I made you think you're stupid because your not. In fact, you're clearly much smarter than I am, but I'm not sure you understand what I actually do."

"I get it! You're Julia Roberts and you have sex with people who pay you like Richard Gere." I said easily.

Santana's eyes widened in, "W-Well…" she said her voice shaking. "I guess you do get it" she finished looking frightened.

I could feel her heart hammering against my chest and she looked like she wanted to flee, but thankfully she didn't or maybe she couldn't. She took her time before she continued and asked, "Are you okay with this? It isn't like the movies where everything comes up roses and sunshine. This is real life and I would certainly understand if this was too much for you. It is for most people."

I was coming up empty with anything conclusive after thinking for awhile. "Honestly…" I said pausing, "I don't know. I don't know enough about you or your job to know if I can handle it, but what I do know is that I have no right to judge you or what you do. I think you and I have both probably faced enough judgment from people and I don't think you need any more from me. So I can promise that I will try to understand as long as you work with me. I can't understand if you aren't honest, which might mean you have to tell me things that aren't easy."

Santana looked shocked. Her eyes were wide and she was staring right through me. My heart ached knowing the suffering that most likely had been going on within her. 'I guess most people don't bother to get to know her once they find out' I thought. I decided that I wasn't going to be another person that discards her because she's had to make some tough choices. I can try and understand. Hopefully she can be honest with me.

"Santana…" I said trying to break the Latina out of her trance. "Are you okay?"

I was starting to worry that her eyes were stuck in the position they were in since they hadn't moved or even blinked. I remember hearing about a guy back in Lima who got his eyes stuck when he stared too long.

"SANTANA…" I said again this time louder, cupping her bruised cheek gently and hoping her eyes weren't stuck permanently.

She finally blinked in surprise at the contact and still it took her another moment before she spoke. "You're amazing" she finally said focusing on me.

"No I'm not" I said, responding sheepishly to Santana's compliment. The weight of her words and her burning stare were causing me to look away feeling bashful.

"YES you are" she said, pulling my chin back towards her, taking me back to the night we met when she had done the same thing. "Not many people would be willing to try and get to know me after finding out what I do, so thank you for trying to get to know the real me."

I didn't really know how to respond. I'd never really been comfortable with compliments so I said the only thing that came to mind, "You're welcome."

We both sighed in unison making us giggle, acknowledging the awkwardness of the moment.

"So what now?" Santana asked after the momentary chirp of laughter passed.

"I say we give it some time. Something traumatic happened to you and I don't need all the gory details right now. I just want to focus on the problem at hand and that's helping you feel better." I said smiling and trying to move past the weight of Santana's big reveal for at least the time being.

"How are you going to do that?" she asked skeptically. "I already took my pain meds."

"This always makes me feel better when I'm hurt" I said closing the distance between our faces and kissing the bruise gently under her left eye. "Does that hurt?" I asked after pulling back, wanting to make sure I wasn't going to cause her any additional pain if I were to continue.

"No…" she said as her eyes rolled back and her lids noticeably fluttered.

I knew I had done something right given her reaction so I switched to the bruise around her right eye, paying it equal attention by placing a delicate kiss to the darkest area of that bruise.

"How bout that?" I asked again.

"Mmm…" she cooed "it feels nice."

Smiling in response to the way Santana answered I continued to kiss my way around her face. She had bruises everywhere; the bridge of her nose, on both sides of her chin, even up into her hairline and I didn't miss a single one. The kisses were soft and slow so I wouldn't hurt her. I wanted to make her feel good and judging by the look in her eyes I was succeeding.

The last kiss I wanted to apply was to her lips. Her bottom lip had a nasty split running down its length and I didn't want it to break open so I whispered, "don't move", before slowly leaning forward. My bottom lip slowly reached for hers wanting to sooth all her pain and make her realize that she was worth being cared for. This kiss, like the others was gentle, but it had more behind it. Somehow, even though most people would call it nothing more than a peck, it still took my breath away as I pulled back.

I was surprised to realize that she actually listened and didn't kiss me back. So I rewarded her good behavior with another kiss. This time I lingered a little longer than a mere peck, but still I applied zero pressure to her injured lips.

'I don't think I've ever kissed anyone that delicately before' I thought. My lips hovering millimeters above hers, mixing our breath together so that I was unsure if I was breathing in her breath or mine. Her eyes were still closed and I'm sure she wanted to deepen the kiss judging by her soft whimpers and heavy breathing, but she didn't. She allowed me to continue to kiss her without moving even an inch.

Satisfied that I had paid each cut and bruise equal attention I moved lower, my nose grazing along the skin of her neck before placing a short kiss to her t-shirt covered collar bone.

"Lay back" I said pulling away and helping her move so that she was now resting completely on her back. "Where does it hurt?" I asked resting on my elbow.

"Everywhere…" she sighed out causing me to smile knowing it probably didn't hurt everywhere. 'At least she's well enough to try and get me to kiss her everywhere,' I thought, 'She can't be that hurt.'

"Very well…" I said smirking a little. "Let's get this shirt off so I know what areas I need to pay particular attention too."

Carefully, I helped Santana out of her shirt, managing to remove it with only the slightest hint of a groan from the Latina.

'Holy moley' I thought once her shirt had been discarded to the floor finally looking at her heavily bruised torso. It really did look bad and if there was ever a justification for murder I was sure the guy that did this certainly seemed deserving of that fate.

"That looks really painful" I said recoiling.

"You have no idea…" she breathed out making me think it was more due to my tenderness than the actually pain from her injuries.

Thankfully, Santana had a bra on which I was grateful for since my goal in doing this was only to let her know that I cared and that I wanted to help her feel better, not for it to turn sexual. If she didn't have a bra on I knew that would definitely make things a lot more difficult.

Keeping my eyes glued to her body, studying the bruises along her ribs I moved lower, stopping to straddle her mid thigh. I noticed a particularly disgusting looking bruise wrapping around her ribs, curling to her back, deciding to start there I said, "Stay still…" causing her to wordlessly acquiesce with my request.

Taking her response to mean that it was okay to continue, I leaned forward and began kissing along the tender purple flesh of her rib cage. The muscles in Santana's stomach quickly tightened and she let out a moan which I wasn't sure was pleasure or pain.

"Are you okay? Do you want me to stop?" I asked fearing I had hurt her.

"No, please don't stop" she pleaded "It feels really good. I'm just sore that's all. You can keep going."

Noticing her desperation and not wanting to deny her even though I now had some reservations about continuing I carefully leaned in once again with my lips. I peppered delicate kisses even lighter than before along her ribs and stomach until I made it to the waist band of her shorts.

Not sure what to do next I paused and breathed in deeply. Santana noticed the halt in my movement and looked me in the eye. "It's okay" she started to say. "You don't have to go any further. You probably don't even want to anymore after what I told you" she said looking ashamed.

"My God… that is sooo not the reason I stopped." I said reaching up and caressing her cheek and pulling her gaze back towards me. "I want to take off all your clothes and kiss along your entire body tasting you and helping you feel better, but one- I still don't think I'm ready and two- I have a feeling your body is not quite up to that type of strain just yet."

Santana looked disappointed, relieved and amused all at once which made me giggle.

"Your confidence has improved if you think that will cause me to strain" she said giggling as well "I like you when you're cocky."

"It's not really confidence… it's just my observation. I could have sworn you were struggling when I watched you a moment ago and that was only with soft pecks along your body. I think if I were to continue you'd really have to strain to keep your composure" I said winking and trying not to be coy.

"Damn…" Santana said laughing "I just got called out. You totally would turn me into a puddle of Jell-O if you continued so I guess you're right again; unfortunately. We should stop, but I want you to know that I won't be laid up like this for long. So whenever you feel like continuing I will be more than happy to be at your mercy."

"I'll keep that in mind" I said leaning forward and kissing the center of her stomach this time, allowing my tongue to reach out slightly causing Santana to gasp.

"Now that was just mean" Santana said smiling once I sat back up, letting me know that she was being sarcastic. "My mind knows we should stop, but my body has a mind all its own and often times it doesn't agree with my head so you doing that is just giving it false hope and that's just wrong."

"Sorry…" I said laughing "I'll try to control myself."

"Don't try too hard" she said cocking her eyebrow up suggestively.

"Santana…" Tina said flinging the door open startling me "You…" she started to say finally noticing the two of us in bed together. "Oh shit, I'm sorry" she stammered leaving her previous statement unfinished. "I didn't know…" she continued turning to face the door looking embarrassed.

Santana and I both realized that she was close to naked, so I helped her cover herself with the sheet.

"Tina it's okay, you can turn around" Santana said smirking slightly.

"Sorry, I didn't know you were still here Brittany."

"It's okay. I actually should be going I have a ballet class to teach soon." I said looking at the clock and getting out of Santana's bed.

"Take care of yourself and try not to do too much." I said leaning in to kiss Santana's forehead. "I'll call to see how your doing later."

I started to head for the door when I heard Santana call out, "Thanks Britt."

The new nickname made me smile. "You're welcome" I responded, turning to leave and loving the connection we were building.

"It was nice meeting you Tina" I said turning and grabbing the door knob to shut the door behind me.

"You too Brittany" Tina replied.

As I shut the door I heard Tina apologize for walking in without knocking, which made me chuckle, surprisingly not feeling even slightly embarrassed. It wasn't until I shut Santana's apartment door that I realized the full weight of what had just occurred between Santana and I.

'Santana gets paid to have sex with people' I thought, crinkling my brow. 'On the bright side at least she was honest about it before anything really happened and it's not like she's getting paid to sleep with me' I thought while pushing the down button for the elevator.

The elevator doors opened and I walked in as they shut behind me. 'I think I can accept her job if she talks to me about it' I thought.

It wasn't until I was sitting in a taxi on my way to the studio that I actually started to think about what Santana actually did with these other people. 'Oh shit…' I thought, picturing Santana having sex with different people. 'This isn't going to be as easy as I thought. Why couldn't Santana actually be a taxi cab driver?' I thought, looking up at the man behind the wheel.

**AN: You know it's trouble when Brittany starts cussing… stay tuned! ;) I wonder how this reveal is going to affect Brittany and Puck. O wait I don't have to wonder… phew! Sorry peps you do. :p**

**The big reveal is done now comes the hard stuff. What'd you all think? Happy that Brittany didn't blow up and there wasn't a big scene or are you disappointed because you were expecting angst. I hope the former rather than the latter. I was thinking a lot about it and most escort Brittana stories Brittany is the escort and Santana finds out unlike this story. I can totally see Santana not accepting it if Brittany was the escort and making a big scene, but Brittany I just couldn't picture her blowing up about it. She's much more level headed than Santana and less likely to jump to conclusions so I hope it worked for you.**

**And who among you is ready to sign up to have Brittany as your nurse next time your hurt? ;) ;) Santana is one lucky chick!**

**Peace out!**

**Thanks for reading!**


	11. You Have Some Explaining To Do Part 1

**AN: Hey everyone, I'm back! Not a whole lot to say other than sorry for the wait and thanks for the support. 20 reviews last chapter that's a new record for me so thank you to everyone who reviewed and to everyone else who is still reading. Glad the consensus seemed to be that everyone liked Santana's fluffy reveal and Brittany's even fluffier reaction. :D**

**On a side note how bout the dodge ball promo? I know it's probably old news, but I actually just saw it and as a Physical Education teacher I was dying LOL since there are more than a few students and maybe a few colleagues as well that I would like peg with a dodge ball. And I really love Britt and Santana back in their Cheerios uniforms. (And no it's not because I'm a pervert) I can only assume that means either Britt managed to convince Santana that every day is Halloween or they are back on the squad. Either way I'm happy!**

**Anyway… that is neither here nor there so… onward and downward. ENJOY CHAPTER 11!**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Glee, but I do own some pretty banged up patio furniture. Thanks Hurricane Irene!**

**AN2: SORRY… I know I said I'd be quick, (and now this is officially the longest, short authors note in history) but I just had to say since so many people commented and wished me well, that me, my family and my house made it through the hurricane fine minus some busted patio furniture that I forgot to bring in. And yes my very smart wife reminded me to bring it in and I forgot so I got a little ass chewing for that, but other than a few teeth marks all is well in Casa Drew and my wife's pregnancy is going smoothly. So thanks for the well wishes!**

**NOW ENJOY for real!**

**Previously on Playing With Fire **

**Brittany's POV**

As I shut Santana's bedroom door I heard Tina apologize for walking in without knocking, which made me chuckle, surprisingly not feeling even slightly embarrassed. It wasn't until I shut Santana's apartment door that I realized the full weight of what had just occurred between Santana and I.

'Santana gets paid to have sex with people' I thought, crinkling my brow.' On the bright side at least she was honest about it before anything really happened and it's not like she's getting paid to sleep with me' I thought while pushing the down button for the elevator.

The elevator doors opened and I walked in as they shut behind me. 'I think I can accept her job if she talks to me about it' I thought.

It wasn't until I was sitting in a taxi on my way to the studio that I actually started to think about what Santana actually did with these other people. 'Oh shit…' I thought, picturing Santana having sex with different people. 'This isn't going to be as easy as I thought. Why couldn't Santana actually be a taxi cab driver?' I thought, looking up at the man behind the wheel.

**And now Chapter 11- You Have Some Explaining To Do**

**Brittany's POV**

My Tuesday afternoon ballet class came and went with me in a complete daze. My body was present, but my mind was obviously elsewhere. If not for the bruise on my shin after a 6 year old little girl accidentally kicked me, I would probably have no proof or memory that I had actually been to the studio that day at all.

I think I talked to Mike while I was there, but I honestly had no idea what we talked about. He could have been dressed in drag singing show tunes and I still don't think I would have noticed, or even remembered, because the only thing on my mind was Santana. 'How am I going to deal with this?' I thought, recognizing the strange and unnerving situation her job was putting me in.

I ended up walking some twenty plus blocks home because I couldn't remember where the subway station was, and come to think of it, I was lucky I managed to find my way home at all. I could have easily ended up roaming the sewers somewhere unable to find my way out since my mind was literally mush.

The long walk home unfortunately did nothing to help calm my nerves or quell the onslaught of images attacking my brain. A few times I actually had to stop mid step to shake my head and clench my eyes trying to will the images of random people screwing Santana out of my head.

Quite literally from the moment the information finally registered in the taxi until now my mind was continually assaulted with new images, each one worse than the last of Santana being bedded by faceless strangers. The only reprieve I got was the two minutes I spent holding my bruised shin after I got donkey kicked by the steal toed 6 year old in ballet class. Who knew pain could be such a welcome distraction.

As the elevator doors opened onto my floor I realized this wasn't where I wanted to be. I needed to try and work through some of this before the images drove me crazy and I knew the only person that could help me do that other than Santana was Puck. 'He knows Santana, maybe he can help me understand and work through this,' I thought. With my mind made up I pressed a new button on the elevator and made my way up to Puck's apartment.

"Hey Blondie" Puck said greeting me after opening the door. "Come on in."

Just seeing Puck opening the door I could feel myself succumbing to the full weight of Santana's reveal and dropping the _I'm okay _facade. That was the best thing about our relationship; I never had to hide my thoughts or feelings from him.

"I was just about to grab a beer." Puck said walking towards the kitchen not noticing my emotional turmoil. "Do you want one?"

"No" I said my voice breaking.

Hearing my tone Puck finally took notice, turning around. "What's wrong?" he asked, finally looking me in the eye.

Hearing and seeing Puck's worry I felt the composure I had been clinging to all day crumble. Immediately, Puck was in front of me encircling me in a comforting bear hug, stroking my back. He didn't know what was going on and he didn't need to know right now because he knew from experience that I would speak when I was ready.

I'm not sure how long we stood there, but I knew it was awhile and I was grateful to Puck for allowing me the time to pull myself back together.

Pulling away after absorbing Puck's support I said, "Thanks."

"No problem" Puck responded after taking a step back. "So what's going on?" he asked with concern.

Puck's embrace was just enough comfort to allow me to speak freely without bursting into tears.

"It's Santana" I said trying to think of where to begin. "How well do you know her?" I asked

"We're friends." Puck replied nonchalantly "I guess I've known her for like 5 or 6 months." He said crinkling his brow and asking "Why?"

"Do you know what she does for a living?" I asked plainly

Puck's face fell slightly and I knew that he knew more than what he had let on in previous discussions. If you knew what to look for with Puck, he could be read like a book, and right now his expression was telling me he was hiding something.

"You know what I'm getting at don't you?" I asked, not liking the new direction this conversation was heading.

"Well something tells me you're not asking about bartending…" he answered with a sigh.

"You're right about that…" I said directing him to continue.

Puck's expression fell even further as he looked to the floor in what appeared to be shame and in that moment I knew my suspicion was right. He had known about Santana's job all along and didn't tell me.

"She told you, didn't she…?" he asked

"Maybe…,"I said feeling a sense of dread rising, "but right now I'm more concerned with what you know and haven't told me."

Puck looked defeated as he expelled one last heavy sigh. "I'm sorry!" he began not quite meeting my eyes "I'm sorry I didn't tell you. I wanted to, it's just…"

"What?" I interrupted feeling betrayed, "You didn't think that was something I should know before getting involved with her, or you just didn't care enough to tell me?"

"Seriously…, is that what you really think?" He asked raising his voice "That I don't care?"

"I don't know what to think" I said honestly. "I just had this bomb dropped in my lap by Santana and now come to find out you knew about it all along and didn't give me a heads up. So yeah, in all honesty I'm more than a little confused by this whole situation. And the last thing I thought I'd be talking about before coming over here was you lying to me. I came here hoping you could help me work through my feelings and see past Santana's job. Now I have a whole new problem to work through…"

"Well allow me to enlighten you on both!" Puck said condescendingly. "You're right! I knew that Santana was a call girl long before I introduced the two of you. And you are also right that I deliberately didn't tell you the night of your birthday."

With Puck starting to explain my head began to spin feeling overwhelmed by my rapidly changing emotions. I knew I would eventually have to work through them, but I was having a hard enough time labeling them let alone pinning them down long enough to work through them considering they were constantly changing. 'Uggg' I thought, hearing my inner voices pushing Puck's actual voice to the background. _Hurt _was the first thing that came to mind. 'How could Puck know something this big and not tell me?' I thought. _Anger _came second which was difficult to deal with since I hardly ever got angry. 'I can't believe Puck is actually getting an attitude with me right now! I'm the one he lied too! What right does he have to be angry with me?' _Confusion_ was last but probably the most consuming emotion right now. 'Why did Puck lie?' I thought thinking 'He never lied, at least not with me.' But not only that… I was also confused about Santana. 'How is her job going to potentially affect us?' There is so much to consider…' In fact, I was now starting to regret not asking Santana more questions when I had the opportunity.

'But,' I thought, after realizing I had practically missed Puck's entire explanation 'focus on one problem at a time,' I said simplifying for myself. 'Why did Puck feel the need to hide something this crucial? Let's start there...' I decided.

"Wait, just wait!" I interrupted holding my hands up halting him mid-sentence. "I have no idea what you just said. Go back! And don't you dare get an attitude with me about this. I've had a hard enough day as is and you did withhold something pretty big so start at the beginning." I demanded, not even realizing I was capable of such command. "Why didn't you tell me about Santana's job?"

"Okay…"Puck said sighing heavily. "Starting again…" he continued pausing to drop the attitude. "I didn't tell you because I wanted you to get to know Santana first without something like this complicating things. Santana is an amazing person, but she's not as self-assured or independent as she seems. She needs someone to understand her and accept her for who she is and not judge her for what she does for a living."

"And you didn't think I would accept her if I had known the truth?" I asked now adding insulted to the ever growing list of feelings I was trying to work through.

"I'm not saying that!" Puck said trying to make me understand. "In fact that's part of the reason I wanted to set you two up to begin with. Britt, you are without a doubt the most understanding and accepting person I have ever met. And I knew if anyone could accept Santana and her job, it would be you. But like you said… Santana's job is a big deal and I didn't want you to get distracted by that while trying to get to know her."

"Okaaay…"I said sensing there was more.

"She needs you Britt." He said softening his tone. "Even if she doesn't know it yet and even if she fights letting you in from time to time. And you wanna know something else… I think you need her too."

"How could you possibly know that?" I asked

"I love you Britt and I wouldn't want you to change for anything," he said starting slowly which led me to believe he was about to drop another bomb. "But sometimes you react timidly when you shouldn't and Santana… well lets just say she far from timid. She can help you feel more self-assured in certain situations. Plus, with her being a bad ass she can and will protect you if necessary just like I would."

"You think I need someone to protect me?" I asked

"I think everyone does in different ways! Santana needs someone to protect her emotionally, I need someone to protect me from myself since I always do stupid things and you need someone to protect you physically." He finished.

"So let me see if I have this straight…" I said trying to think. "You're saying you hid Santana's job from me for my own good?"

Puck considered my question and responded, "To put it simply…yes!"

"Well from now on don't hide things even if you think it's for the best." I announced. "I would hope my best friend would trust me enough to let me make up my own mind about my own life. These are my decision, not yours! It's my life and I'm capable of making the right decision without you making it for me!"

"Okay…"Puck began gesturing towards me." Hypothetically, say I told you I wanted to set you up with Santana. This is a girl you've never met when I tell you… by the way she has sex with strangers and she gets paid for it. Can you honestly say you would still want to go out with her only knowing that?"

Thinking about Puck's question I had to pause. In all honesty who in their right mind could answer that question with a yes? I'd like to think that I would give Santana a chance had I known about her job ahead of time, but thinking about it like this I couldn't be sure. One thing I do know… is that I like Santana now. 'So maybe Puck was right to keep that information hidden.' I thought.

"Maybe you're right… I don't know what I would have done had I known the truth." I said cringing and feeling ashamed thinking that I might have used her job as a potential reason not to be with her. "I probably would have just pursued a friendship with Santana instead of something romantic."

"Okay…,"Puck said drawling out the word sounding a little unsure, "so then maybe I made the right choice. Cause I'm pretty sure you like her as more than a friend."

"I do like her as more than a friend," I said easily "but that doesn't change the fact that her job is still going to be a major issue."

"Britt, it's just a job." He said plainly.

"Being an accountant is just a job!" I said thinking that only Puck would think that having sex and getting paid for it is just a job.

"Being an escort is not just a job." I continued "Sex is supposed to be between two people who care about each other. Did you forget that I'm a virgin and that I've waited for 21 years to have sex with the right person? You really didn't think that this might be an issue given how highly I value sex?"

"Oh yeah that…" Puck said looking away and speaking to the ground. "There's probably something else I should tell you."

'Oh dear Lord what now' I thought, watching Puck kick at the floor.

Puck winced before he spoke again. "I want you to remember that everything I did to hook you and Santana up was for your own good because I care about you both a lot and I think you two could be great together."

"Okaaaay…"I said feeling the dread rising and eyeing him questioningly.

"Now try to remain calm…" he encouraged holding up his hands looking like he was trying to ward off an attack. "But I told Santana you were a virgin when I was trying to get her to meet you, and I also said I wanted her to take your virginity, hoping that it sound enough like a job to insure she would actually come to your party and meet you."

"YOU DID WHAT?" I yelled.

"Wait… don't get mad." He said trying to regain some control. "Remember, I did it for both of you. I knew Santana wouldn't be okay with a blind date. I only made it sound like a job because I knew as soon as she met you it would no longer be a job for her. I knew she would like you. I wanted to do something good for the both of you."

Immediately hearing Puck's reasoning my hands flew to my face covering my eyes in shock. I felt sick and tears were rapidly building in my eyes. "Oh my God, this can't be happening." I said into my hands. "Do you have any idea what you've done?" I asked, "Now I'm always going to wonder if she's only pretending to like me because you paid her?"

"I didn't pay her!" Puck stated quickly. "She wanted to go through with it without being paid. She was interested in you the moment I started talking about you."

"The fact that she didn't take your money doesn't make me feel any better." I said as the tears started streaming down my face. "And if she was interested in me from the beginning why did you feel the need to make it sound like a job?"

Puck looked dumbfounded by my question standing there trying to think. "When you put it like that, I don't know. But I know she really likes you… it's not an act!" He said trying to recover. "She would never tell you about her job if she didn't."

"OH MY GOD…"I said again realizing the reason for Puck's crazy behavior the morning after my party. "That's the reason you showed up at my apartment the morning after I met Santana. That's why you were so worried. You thought that she had succeeded and you were feeling guilty thinking I lost my virginity to a prostitute."

The tears were now flowing freely as my body shook feeling hurt, disgusted, angry and betrayed. Puck tried to reach for me, but I batted his hands away.

"DON'T YOU DARE!" I said through my tears and gritted teeth, backing away. "Do you have any idea how bad this could have turned out? What if I had slept with Santana and you had been wrong about her actually being a good person? Do you even realize how messed up that sounds that you set me up with a call girl to lose my virginity? You know I would never have sex with someone that I didn't see a future with. What if Santana had slept with me because it was her job, do really think she would have stuck around? How do you think I would have felt if I lost my virginity in a one night stand regardless of whether I knew she was an escort?"

"Brittany…"he said, trying to reach out again, causing me to back away from his touch once more. "Don't you think I know all of that?" he said looking remorseful. "But like you said… you would never have sex with someone you didn't see a future with…so I knew you wouldn't go through with it with Santana. At least not until you got to know her better, actually giving Santana time to realize that she liked you too and that it was more than a job for her."

"Puck I almost did go through with it! And I know you thought I did…"

"You almost…did!" He announced as if that would make a difference.

"Oh my God…You sooo don't get it! The only reason this didn't go horribly wrong was because you were right about one thing and that's that Santana is a good person. She's the only reason I'm not standing here crying telling you how much I regret my first time. I can't believe you thought this was a good idea!" I said shaking my head and backing towards the door. "I can't be here right now. I can't look at you…"

"Brittany wait!" he said, leaping forward and grabbing my wrist.

I looked down at his hand wrapped around my wrist and I felt anything but timid as I yanked it away. "Don't touch me!" I said, looking at him with more disgust than I ever thought possible.

"Britt, I promise I thought I was doing something good for you and Santana." He announced looking like he could cry at any moment. "I never wanted you to get hurt."

"Well you have a funny way of showing it." I said opening the door and running out, tears streaking down my face.

**To be continued…**

**AN: Okay so first off… I know it's just plain wrong to end with Brittany in tears. :( SORRY! And second… I know you hate that there was no Brittany/Santana interaction in this chapter! I wanted to include some, but considering what I have planned next for them it would have gotten too long and it would have pushed back the update even further. So I figured the lesser of the two evils was to break it up into You Have Some Explaining To Do Part 1 and next time will be You Have Some Explaining To Do Part 2. Besides, I felt that Brittany finding out about Puck's plan deserved a chapter all its own since that was the original premise of the story. **

**Hope you liked (maybe liked is the wrong word)… Hope you enjoyed chapter 11 and the return of Puck's in spite of no Brittana scenes. Poor Puck! (He kinda had it coming in spite of his good intentions). Plus, I wanted someone to get their ass chewed on worse than I did. ;) ;) And I definitely succeeded (I think). Brittany tore his ass up!**

**Thanks again to bubbaslilsis for her beta work! Without you this story would probably be one big run-on sentence. ;)**

**Take care everyone! And please review!**


	12. You Have Some Explaining To Do Part 2

**AN: Hi again! Chapter 12 is finally here. The support like always has been awesome! **

**SPECIAL THANKS to: Readers that have shared personal stories with me. Please know that I value all your honesty greatly and it gives me a lot to think about while writing. I think it was chapter 1 that I wrote **_**this story would be a big stretch for me**_** and I don't think I even realized how true that statement would be. Obviously, if you've been reading my authors notes you know that I'm not a lesbian, bisexual or even a women for that matter. (Just a guy that likes Glee- particularly Santana and Brittany-can you blame me? :D) So with that in mind there are many aspects that I'm writing about that I will NEVER truly understand even though I'm trying. Plus, when it comes to the business of escorts I know nothing. So if I make mistakes I hope they are mistakes you can excuse. I'm trying to make this story as realistic as I can without having any real life experience in anything that I'm writing about so please be patient with me and know that I am trying to get the details as right as I can. I know that was a really serious author's note, but I just wanted to clarify a few things that have come up recently.**

**And now for something that is ALMOST as serious and something that should never be joked about… :p To the anonymous reviewer that said "It would have been less painful to kick Puck in the nuts" last chapter :( Speaking from experience, NO it wouldn't. :( There should be no talk of nut crackin in this story. Puck's or anyone else's, PARTICULARLY MINE! ;) ;) **

**Thanks and I hope you enjoy Chapter 12! :)**

**Disclaimer- I don't own much, but I do own more than a lot of people. (Which is sad, but true) So I'm very lucky in many ways, but not as lucky as Ryan Murphy because he owns Glee and I don't. (Come to think of it I'm not sure if he owns Glee…) hmmm… anyone?**

**Previously on Playing With Fire **

**Brittany's POV**

"Oh my God…You sooo don't get it Puck! The only reason this didn't go horribly wrong was because you were right about one thing and that's that Santana is a good person. She's the only reason I'm not standing here crying telling you how much I regret my first time. I can't believe you thought this was a good idea!" I said shaking my head and backing towards the door. "I can't be here right now. I can't look at you…"

"Brittany wait!" he said, leaping forward and grabbing my wrist.

I looked down at his hand wrapped around my wrist and I felt anything but timid as I yanked it away. "Don't touch me!" I said, looking at him with more disgust than I ever thought possible.

"Britt, I promise I thought I was doing something good for you and Santana." He announced looking like he could cry at any moment. "I never wanted you to get hurt."

"Well you have a funny way of showing it." I said opening the door and running out, tears streaking down my face.

**And now Chapter 12- You Have Some Explaining To Do- Part 2**

**Brittany's POV**

I made it back to my apartment in record time thanks to the extreme need to get away from Puck. He had always been a safe place for me, but with this new revelation I now felt vulnerable with him. I had some minor trouble with my front door since my vision was clouded with free flowing tears, but eventually I managed to get it open before collapsing against it in a heap of uncontrollable sobs. 'How could he do this? How am I ever going to be able to trust him again?' I thought as my body quaked in emotional agony.

I sat on the floor for God knows how long as tears ran down my face collecting at the collar of my shirt. 'Puck is such an idiot!' I thought, moving past shock and pain straight to anger. Not only were his actions stupid and reckless, but they could have led to any number of terrible endings. So many _what ifs_ were going through my mind that I was actually starting to feel physically ill picturing the worst case scenario. Not only did every scenario I thought of end with me in tears, but a few could have potentially ended way worse. 'Jail, injury, or a few other unpleasant possibilities' I thought. But out of all of the possible _what ifs_ the one that was causing the most problems currently was, 'What if Puck was right?'

In my mind I hated Puck for his irresponsible plan, but there was also a small part of me that was wondering if he was right in some small way. Of course he had been wrong to set me up the way he did, there was no question there. He used my virginity as a way to entice someone to go out with me. Which was messed up, no doubt! But, could he have been right to hid Santana's job? Could I have allowed something like that to cloud my judgment and prevent me from seeing the real person behind the job? I went back and forth several times thinking there was no way I could judge someone off of their job alone, but then something like the thought of constant danger or potential arrest would spring to mind causing me to switch my thinking before feeling shameful and switching back again.

Finally, I came to the conclusion that I had been right all along. 'There was no way I could judge Santana or anyone else strictly because of their job. That's not the type of person I am!' I said reassuring to myself. 'People are more than what they do for a living. Quinn is a buyer for Macys, but she is more than just a good shopper. Rachel is an aspiring Broadway singer, but she is more than just a pretty voice. Sam is a personal trainer, but he is more than a tight body. Even Puck' I thought, seeing past my anger if only for a minute, 'is more than just a mechanic and Santana I'm sure is no different. She is more than an escort.'

Obviously, if she's an escort, something must have gone wrong somewhere in her life. I can't imagine anyone willingly go into prostitution unless they have no other choice. No child wants to be a prostitute when they grow up; something has to force a person into it. Maybe they have no other choice and that is the only option they have left in order to survive. It saddened me to think that anyone would have to live that lifestyle, that anyone would have to sell their bodies in order to live. I hated myself for scrutinizing these people, for scrutinizing _her_ without knowing the background information. Santana is a person with hopes, fears and pains and she deserves to be treated as such.

Santana said she would try and be honest with me about things. 'Maybe I can just ask her?' I know she wasn't entirely honest about her and Puck's plan, but I guess that is kind of understandable at least from her side. She didn't know me yet and she did tell me the part that was most relevant to her.

At some point while sitting on the floor I managed to stop crying; probably since I was trying to avoid thinking about Puck and what he had done. Puck was a problem that I wasn't prepared to deal with at this point. It was too raw, too fresh and it would be too hard to try and be objective at this point. Santana on the other hand… I had made some progress in understanding at least the things that I did know about her. The rest I could find out in time, but one thing I had to know now was, 'Is she interested in me for real or is this still just a job to her?' I thought.

'Let's find out!' I said pulling my phone out of my pocket and trying to be courageous.

Before I could rethink and lose my nerve I hit send, dialing Santana's number.

"Hello…"Santana said after a few rings sounding groggy.

"Hey…" I said knowing I had probably woken her up.

"Hey… I'm glad you called."

"How are you feeling?" I asked.

"I'm okay…" she replied nonchalantly, "still a little sore and tired and DEFINITELY not as good as I was when you were here laying with me and showering me with TLC, but I'm feeling better I guess."

"Well that's sort of what I'm calling about… How would you feel about having some company?" I asked.

"I'd love some. Come over whenever!" she responded.

"Okay, I'll be there shortly."

"Sounds good! Just come in. I'll leave the door open cause I will probably still be in bed."

"Santana…" I said, hesitating slightly feeling even more unsure than I was a moment ago about Santana's motives, "you're not just trying to get me to join you in bed, are you?" I asked trying to sound playful, but honestly wondering if the answer was _yes._

"Maybe…" she said flirtatiously "is it working?"

"I guess you'll have to wait and see…" I responded not wanting to get into anything further over the phone and still trying to stick to this little game we were playing.

"Okay, I'll see you soon."

"Bye" I said hitting the end button and putting my phone back in my pocket.

Slowly, I picked myself off the floor and took a glance in the hall mirror. "Uggg…" I groaned, 'I look a mess' I thought, grabbing a tissue and blotting under my eyes trying to wipe away the streaked mascara that had run down my face. Quickly, after feeling satisfied that I had masked my tears as best I could, I threw my hair up in a ponytail and grabbed my purse before heading out the door.

'Here goes nothing." I thought.

**Santana's POV**

After hanging up the phone I knew I had a huge grin on my face that I couldn't manage to wipe away.

"So that was your honey dip…" Tina stated with a smirk, obviously overhearing at least part of my conversation with Brittany and bursting my joyful bubble.

"You know it's not polite to eavesdrop" I said after rolling my eyes.

"Who cares about being polite?" Tina said leaning against the door frame. "It's fun and how else am I going to learn anything about you? You never tell me anything…" she said walking towards me and sitting on the bed.

"Maybe I would tell you more if you weren't such a gossip and didn't always tell everyone my business when I told you stuff."

"Please… I don't always tell people what you tell me." Tina said sounding insulted.

"Are you kidding me?" I said cocking my eyebrow suggestively. "You do remember the time that I told you my secret celebrity crush was the progressive insurance girl, Flo?"

"Oh yeah…" Tina said in between giggles as her laughter shook the bed. "That was hysterical! I had to tell Lauren it was too funny not too."

"Well now…thanks to you and your big mouth…" I said glaring at Tina who was still laughing, "every day I get a new letter in the mail trying to get me to switch insurance companies because Lauren thought it would be funny to put me on their mailing list."

Tina started laughing equally as hard yet again. "Oh come on that's funny." She said.

'I guess it's a little funny' I thought secretly, knowing there was no way I would ever tell Tina or Lauren that.

"Anyway…" I said rolling my eyes signaling it was time to move on. "Yes, that was Brittany and she's coming over so that means it's time for you to go."

"Fine…" Tina said looking disappointed, "but you better give me the scoop on this new girl of yours!"

"Sure…" I said sarcastically, "that's next on my _to do list_ after I tell Figgins he can take our jobs and shove em up his ass."

"Whatever…" Tina said knowing it was a losing battle and rising from the bed to walk towards the door.

"Tina…" I said with a chuckle trying to stop her before she left. "Thanks for taking care of me."

"No prob…" she responded knowing I was sincere, catching the change in my tone before turning and leaving my apartment.

After Tina left I was left alone with my thoughts. I was glad that Brittany was coming over again and didn't just call to check on me, but something about Brittany's tone seemed _off_. 'I hope she isn't having second thoughts' I said to myself.

After nervously wondering for about 20 minutes what Brittany's motives were I heard the front door open and a few seconds later the beautiful blonde walked through my bedroom door.

"Hey…" I said nervously, noticing her oddly stiff body language.

"Hi" she said emotionlessly back, standing firmly planted in her spot practically across the room.

"Do you want to come sit?" I asked hesitantly.

She stood there for a moment expressionless and I began to think the worst. 'She must have had time to think about everything and decided that she couldn't handle my life. I couldn't blame her. Look at me' I thought glancing down at a few of the bruises along my forearms. 'Who would want to willingly get involved with someone they had to constantly worry about getting attacked, raped, or even worse.' I thought.

"Brittany…" I said hoping to break the hold that particular piece of flooring had on her, "are you okay?"

Still nothing…the tension watching her stand there was killing me.

Finally, after what felt like a lifetime she took a few slow exaggerated steps toward me. Now she was standing about a foot away from the side of my bed.

"Can I ask you a question?" she said breaking her agonizing silence.

I attempted to take in a calming breath, but somehow I only managed to make it harder to breathe because now there was zero oxygen left in my lungs as I tried to speak. "S-Sure" I finally breathed out.

"Do you like me?" she asked seriously, not breaking her statuesque stance.

The question was so ridiculous I actually scoff out of habit. "Of course I like you!" I replied scrunching my forehead in confusion.

Her posture and features had yet to soften like I had hoped after my declaration.

"And this isn't just about sex?" she asked standing intimidatingly over me.

"What…?" I asked not understanding the direction of this conversation. "No! Of course not! If this…" I said pointing back and forth between us "was only about sex I would have somehow gotten you to sleep with me the night of your party. I like you Brittany and I want more than that."

Brittany looked like she was considering my answer because for the first time her expression slipped. Watching the normally happy, bubbly, beautiful girl standing above me, pulled so taunt like she could snap at any moment like a rubber band, was torture to me. I couldn't stand not knowing what was coming next. 'Where did this conversation even come from?' I thought. 'This is not what I was expecting when she asked to come over.'

And just then Brittany did something even more unexpected.

"Good!" she said before reaching up, grabbing the zipper to her jacket and slowly pulling it down before removing the jacket entirely and discarding it to the floor.

Before I could even process what was going on Brittany had also discarded her tank top and was now standing above me dressed in only her jeans and bra. I could say nothing as I took in the sight of her bare skin.

'She's beautiful!' I thought gazing upon her soft, smooth, warm body.

At some point during the time I spent ogling her body she somehow managed to climb onto the bed to straddle my legs.

"What are you doing?" I asked studying her expression.

"What's it look like I'm doing." She said leaning forward to kiss along my neck.

Brittany's lips inched agonizingly slow along my neck probably trying not to apply too much pressure for fear of hurting me. She was succeeding if that was her goal, but a new ache was starting to rise and that was the aching beginning to deepen in my core. I felt her lips ghosting over my pulse point causing my breath catch and my heart rate to quicken. 'Oh God' I thought as she continued to kiss upward trailing the tip of her tongue towards my ear.

'Fuck' I thought as she sucked my earlobe into her mouth. The shock of Brittany's action caused me to grip her hips forcefully trying and failing to suppress a moan.

Before I could recover, feeling dazed after Brittany let go of my ear, I watched her pull back to a sitting position and reach around for the clasp to her bra.

'What the hell is going on?' I thought trying to catch up and find my better judgment. Brittany's actions were making it difficult since my body was already buzzing with arousal and I knew if I didn't stop and figure it out now I would never be able to stop her.

"Brittany wait…" I said reaching around her back to still her hands and prevent her from exposing her breast.

"What is really going on here?" I asked after getting Brittany to stop her efforts to undress.

"What?" she asked looking upset "You don't want me?"

"Yes! Of course I want you," I said cupping her cheek in an effort to reassure her since it seemed like my actions had offended her, "but I'm just trying to catch up and understand what's going on here. I thought you wanted to wait."

"I did. I mean I do!" she said shifting off of my legs and sitting with her back to me on the edge of the bed.

"Then what's going on?" I asked reaching out to stroke her back.

In response to my question Brittany dropped her head and looked at her hands in her lap.

"You can talk to me…" I pleaded, sitting up and inching closer so I could really rub her back. She looked so lost sitting there playing with her fingers.

"Hey…" I said reaching for her hands. "You can trust me."

"Can I?" she asked weakly watching our joined hands.

"Yes!" I responded easily knowing it was true for probably the first time ever.

Brittany sat pondering my response as I waited for her to continue. It wasn't easy sitting there knowing I just had to wait until she was ready to speak, but I had to try. I needed to be patient.

"Puck told me about your deal." She finally said turning to face me.

The shock of the moment caused me to drop my hand from Brittany's back and sit there in stunned silence.

"He told me that he asked you to take my virginity."

The silence was suffocating and I was at a complete loss for what to say considering Puck swore to me he would never breathe a word of this to anyone.

"Brittany…" I said realizing she was waiting for me to say something. "I-I…don't know what to say."

"How bout the truth! You said you would try and be honest with me and yet you were okay with hiding the fact that you knew I was a virgin the night of my party."

"Well kind of a lot has changed." I said feeling like it was an unfair comparison. "I hardly knew you then, but I'm trying to be honest now. I told you about my job which was possibly the hardest thing I have ever done. I told you that I want to pursue a relationship with you which is completely outside my character. I told you I like you and this isn't about sex for me. What more do you want?"

"I need to know that I'm not a job to you."

"Is that what this was all about?" I said finally starting to catch up. "Was this like some kind of test to see if I would go through with my part of the deal?"

"No, it's not like that…" Brittany said turning quickly to look me in my eyes.

"Cause it kinda seems that way." I said trying to quell the rising anger.

"I didn't mean for it to come across that way." She said starting to pout.

"So that IS what you taking your shirt off was all about?" I said trying to remind myself to stay calm.

"I'm sorry!" she said dropping her shoulders. "I'm just really confused right now. My best friend lied to me and was completely shady about this whole thing and then he told me about the original plan and I just… I didn't understand so I went a little crazy I guess."

Trying to keep my anger at bay I sighed deeply hoping the deep breath would help me and keep me from saying something I would regret.

"Britt…" I said reaching out to hold her hand. "If this is going to work we have to trust each other."

"I agree!" she said gripping my hand tighter. "But that's kinda hard to do when you have one person you just met telling you one thing and someone you've known practically all your life telling you something different. How was I supposed to know what's true and what's not? You're right we hardly know each other and that's why I went a little crazy today. I didn't know who to believe."

'Wow…' I thought. 'This is insane!' But the more I thought about it, the more I thought that she might have a point.

"I'm not mad." I said hearing the strange words come out of my mouth and realizing the even stranger thing was that they were true. "I get it. I would have doubted me too, but how bout from now on we try and trust each other. What do I have to do to get you to trust me?"

"Just be honest with me." She said. "Are there any more surprises I'm going to get hit with?"

"Well…" I said trying to think. "You know about my job. You know about the original plan. You know that I got beat up. You do know that I'm a lesbian, right?" I asked trying to lighten the mood.

"Yeah…" she said giggling, "I kinda guessed that part."

"Well then, I can't really think of any other bombs off the top of my head." I said smiling. "But if I do I promise I will tell you."

"That's all I'm asking for." Brittany responded happily.

"Okay…" I said finally starting to relax. "I can try to talk to you more about my feelings and be honest about my job and my life, but I need you to know that it's not easy for me and that I might mess up from time to time."

"That's okay as long as you're trying I can be happy with that."

"Good! So now that that's settled, what now?" I asked.

"It's getting pretty late and it has been an extremely long day so I think I better head home and try and get some sleep. Besides you need your rest too."

"You can stay here if you want. No funny business I promise." I said holding up my hands and smiling.

"Okay…" Brittany replied with a smile of her own.

I scooted over to give her room while she took off her shoes just like we had done last night and this time she easily accepted it tucking herself in next to me under the covers. I was facing her unlike last night which gave me the perfect opportunity to do something I had wanted to do since the morning after meeting the gorgeous blonde.

"Britt, I hope you don't think this falls under the category of funny business," I said feeling nervous for some reason "but can I kiss you?" I asked. "I feel like we haven't really kissed and I think we can agree that first night shouldn't count since there were too many secrets preventing it from really being real and ever since then it has always been you kissing me due to my injuries."

Brittany smiled and even in the dim lighting of my bedroom I could plainly see how bright it was.

"I think we can make an exception this once." She said causing me to breathe a sigh of relief.

Feeling confident that she wanted this as much as I did I reached up and tucked some stray blonde hair behind her ear, letting my hand linger to cup her cheek. Her skin was warm and smooth to the touch, so I gently stroked her cheek with the back of my fingers before slowly leaning forward to capture her lips with mine.

I wanted this kiss to last forever. The feel of her lips gliding against mine and the touch of her tongue felt amazing. The kiss was soft and tender, partially because I knew I couldn't put too much pressure thanks to my busted lip, and partially because there was no reason to rush. This would be the first of many kisses to come and it felt great knowing that I had finally found someone I could be myself around and I wanted to savor this feeling and make it last for as long as humanly possible.

**AN: Wow this is the first chapter in awhile that didn't end with at least a little cliffhanger. Enjoy it; there will be more cliffhangers to come in later chapters. But, rest easy for now knowing that the secrets I laid out from the beginning are **_**more or less **_**done and over with. :D**

**Hope everyone enjoyed this first portion of my story! It was a lot of fun to write and I feel like I have grown as a writer in the process (a little) thanks to a few people that know who they are. (If any of you have read Becoming the Lopez Pierce Family (my first story) you know how true that statement actually is) :) I don't want you to think that I'm trying to pimp that story because I'm not. Actually, looking back on it now it's kind of a hot mess, even though the storyline was cute I guess.**

**Also, I'm wondering if anyone caught a hidden secret of mine in this chapter. Start the guessing game in the review section. I have a feeling now that I told you it's a SECRET it won't be too hard to figure out. LOL **

**Thanks as always for reading and send me a review if you feel I deserve one.**

**THANKS! **

**Over and out for now. ;) Next up… chapter 13- The first REAL date (Might not mean what you think it means…) SORRY- I had to tease at least a little. ;) ;)**

**Take care!**

**Drew**


	13. Getting to Know You

**AN: Hi Ladies…Here is chapter 13. Thanks as always for your reviews and support! Sorry for the long wait!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer- I don't own Glee, but I do own a set of ear plugs for when my wife tries to sing along with Lea Michele. (The women is amazing at many things, singing unfortunately not being one of them) **

**AN2: I know this has not been my typical **_**happy go lucky**_** authors note, but I'm feeling kinda blue for some reason today (and not in an avatar way). I guess it's just one of those days. :( I hope I haven't depressed anyone with my mood because I do hope you enjoy the update! Have fun peoples!**

**Previously on Playing With Fire **

**Santana's POV**

"Britt, I hope you don't think this falls under the category of funny business," I said feeling nervous for some reason "but can I kiss you?" I asked "I feel like we haven't really kissed since I think we can agree that first night shouldn't count since there were too many secrets preventing it from really being real and ever since then it has always been you kissing me due to my injuries."

Brittany smiled and even in the dim lighting of my bedroom I could plainly see how bright it was.

"I think we can make an exception this once." She said causing me to breath in a sigh of relief.

Feeling confident that she wanted this as much as I did I reached up and tucked some stray blonde hair behind her ear, letting my hand linger to cup her cheek. Her skin was warm and smooth to the touch so I gently stroked her cheek with the back of my fingers before slowly leaning forward to capture her lips with mine.

I wanted this kiss to last forever. The feel of her lips gliding against mine and the touch of her tongue felt amazing. The kiss was soft and tender partially because I knew I couldn't put too much pressure thanks to my busted lip and partially because there was no reason to rush. This would be the first of many kisses to come and it felt great knowing that I had finally found someone I could be myself around and I wanted to savor this feeling and make it last for as long as humanly possible.

**And now Chapter 13-Getting to Know You**

**Brittany's POV**

I sensed the morning sunlight shining brightly through Santana's bedroom window before I even opened my eyes. It was early, and if the intensity of the sun was any indication, it was going to be a beautiful summer day. I finally willed my eyes to open even though the battle was still going strong on whether or not to allow myself a little more sleep, but I knew Wednesday was my early morning dance class and I probably would be late if I didn't get up soon. Reluctantly, knowing this time was for good I opened my heavy eye lids and was met with a beautiful comforting sight. Lying draped half on top of me and tucked into the nape of my neck was Santana. Immediately fearing I would wake the sleeping beauty I stopped shifting to study the Latina. Even in sleep she appeared to have a lot on her mind. Her expression showed tension and I inwardly wondered what she was dreaming about. The crinkle between her brow pulled her eyebrows closer together causing me to think she was deeply conflicted about something because that was the same crinkle I got when I was confused. I wanted to reach out and sooth at least the outward signs of tension, but I knew that would probably wake her so I settled for just watching her sleep.

Even with the tension in her brow it was still the most at peace I had ever seen Santana which I guess didn't say a whole lot since I hadn't known her for very long and I didn't have a whole lot to compare it to. 'Hopefully Santana can let me in and tell me about her life. I just want her to know she's special and that she doesn't have to go through life on her own.'

I decided it was pointless to wonder what was going on in that beautiful head of hers. 'She will open up to me when she's ready' I thought, finally relaxing and wrapping my arms around her shoulders, knowing there was nothing I could do to change things at least for now.

I watched her body peacefully rise and fall as her breath tickled the side of my neck. 'I could get used to this' I thought, enjoying the moment for what it was and sighing into the contact. I held her in my arms until I noticed the clock on the wall and realized a good amount of time had passed. I had to get up since I still had to go back to my apartment and get my stuff for work.

I looked down at how peaceful and content Santana looked and I couldn't bring myself to wake her. 'How can I get out from under her and still manage to allow her to sleep?' I wondered internally 'I got it…' remembering the episode of Friends when Ross was trying to teach Chandler the hug and roll. 'That should work' I thought since I already had the hug part down.

Slowly and carefully I pulled Santana tighter to my chest and rolled her further into the center of the bed before carefully rolling back away. 'Yes!' I thought cheering in triumph, noticing she was still asleep resting on her back. Just as I was about to get up I noticed my right arm still stuck underneath the sleeping Latina. '**S**ugar **h**oney **i**ced **t**ea…' I thought cursing and rolling my eyes remembering the next scene from the episode.

Knowing the quick yank and pull was not the way to go considering Chandler tossed Janice on the floor I tried to gently slide my arm free causing Santana to wiggle, groan and slowly open her eyes. 'Drat!' I thought realizing my plan had failed.

"Morning…"Santana said stretching and opening her eyes.

"Mornin" I replied finally freeing my arm once Santana shifted enough for me to slide it completely free.

"You're leaving?' she mumbled, sleep still evident in her voice.

"Sorry" I said rubbing my half asleep tingling fingers, "I have a class in about an hour. I didn't mean to wake you…"

"I'm glad you did." She said sitting up and closing the distance between our lips.

It was a short kiss, but if that was the taste of failure I was glad my hug and roll plan had failed.

"Mmm…" I hummed into Santana's lips as we broke apart causing her to smirk victoriously.

"So when am I going to get to see you again?" Santana asked after a short awestruck staring contest.

"I'm not sure." I responded thinking about how busy the next couple days were. "My schedule is kinda full with classes and stuff, but I'm free Saturday night if you want to do something…"

"Good because I was kinda hoping to take you on a proper date. Wadda ya say?" she asked.

"I'd like that…" I responded trying to stop myself from doing a happy dance.

"Good! How bout I pick you up at like 8:00? Hopefully my bruises will have faded enough so you won't be embarrassed to be seen with me." She said chuckling.

I noticed the teasing in her tone, but I couldn't help thinking that she was self-conscious about how she looked. "I could walk down the street with you dressed in your PJ's right now and I still wouldn't be embarrassed. I could never be embarrassed to be seen with you." I reassured her. "I'm proud to be seen with you. Everyone will be looking at you saying how lucky I am because their wives or girlfriends aren't as hot as mine."

Immediately I noticed my slip and tried to back track. "U-Ummm, I-I mean… I-I…" I said stuttering badly, worrying about how she would react.

Santana sat there in stunned silence as I tried to think of what to say to cover my goof.

"I-I didn't mean you were MY girlfriend, I-I just meant…"

Interrupting and shocking the crap out of me Santana silenced me by crashing into me with her lips, kissing me senseless. This kiss wasn't like the short, sweet, tender kiss we shared a moment ago. This kiss had more aggression behind it, leaving me breathless when she finally pulled away.

Trying to regain my equilibrium and catch my breath I looked at Santana who was smirking devilishly, eyeing me back.

"Well I think this saves us the awkward conversation that couples our age should never have." She said playfully.

"Huh?" I asked not picking up Santana subtlety.

"I mean the conversation where one of us has to ask the other to be their girlfriend because neither one of us knows if we are really together. People our age should never have that conversation. It reminds me of grammar school when someone would ask the other to be their girlfriend or boyfriend and they would go out" I said using air quotes "for the rest of the day and then never speak again."

I couldn't help but laugh at the awkward memories of elementary and middle school relationships and how true that statement actually was.

"Yeah, I guess you're right, but I think that's kinda funny coming from the girl who asked if she could kiss me last night."

"HEY…! Don't knock my game. It seems to be working okay so far." She said chuckling and looking at me with a sexy raised eyebrow.

"I wouldn't dream of it." I said sarcastically, "I just wanted to note the irony."

"Well I guess I'm just gonna have to prove how much game I have." She said scooting closer, stalking me almost like a predator stalking their pray.

"As much as I would enjoy you proving it to me right now," I said rising from the bed trying to avoid being really late "I really need to get going."

"Fine…" Santana said pouting, "I guess I'll have to prove it Saturday night then."

"I guess so…" I said flirtatiously, knowing Santana would take it as a challenge.

"Fine! I will!" she said sternly.

"Good" I responded equally firm, recognize how far this conversation had fallen. It was almost like we were middle schoolers trying to get in the last word.

"I'll see you Saturday." I said beating her to it and leaning in to give her a peck on the lips.

"See you Saturday" she repeated as I turned to leave her apartment.

**Santana's POV**

'Shit' I thought once the conversation settled in after hearing the door shut behind Brittany. 'Now I have to plan this incredible date for Saturday night. What the hell do I know about planning a date? The service always plans them for me.' I thought, flopping dramatically back down on the bed, groaning and grabbing the pillow to cover my face.

'What do normal couples do on Saturday night dates?' I thought pulling the pillow away from my face and tossing it frustratingly to the floor.

XXXXXXXXXXX

It was Saturday night and I had to admit as I climbed the stairs to Brittany's apartment that I was a little nervous. Sex I was good at. Dating in a real relationship with real feelings was another story. I might as well be a virgin. Hell, I couldn't even come up with one idea for this date. I ended up needing Holly, Tina, Lauren and Sunshine to help me plan this date turning it into a group project. What the hell did a bunch of escorts know about dating? If it didn't involve going to a hotel to fuck we were clueless. Thank God for Holly because if not for her I would probably have been stuck with dinner and a movie.

I arrived at Brittany's door and to steady my nerves I sighed deeply before knocking on the door and began nervously fiddling with my hair and clothing as I waited for the door to open. My heart was hammering in my chest. I could only imagine this is what having a minor heart attack felt like before the blonde put me out of my misery by opening the door.

"Wow… You look amazing!" I said staring at her like a love struck teenager.

"You do too." She responded reaching out to touch my cheek. "Your bruises look almost completely healed."

"Miracle of makeup, but their getting there." I joked leaning into her touch. "You ready to go?"

"Yup…" she said turning to lock the door. "Where are we going?"

"Well…" I said hesitating, wanting to keep some of the date a surprise. "We have a couple stops on our itinerary tonight. I've come to realize I'm not a very romantic person while trying to plan this date so I figured I could take you to a couple of my favorite places so you could get to know me a little bit better."

"That sounds perfect." She said reaching out to interlock our fingers as we made our way down to my car.

XXXXXXXXXX

We pulled into the parking lot at the Blue Moon and it was obvious that Brittany had heard about this place judging by her smirk.

"This is one of your favorite places?" she asked looking at the crowd of men standing by the front door.

"You're gonna love this place" I said before exiting the car.

Entering the bar hand in hand we finally made our way up to the bar weaving through the crowd of guys in form fitting t-shirts.

"Santana," Mark practically cheered, bouncing with excitement to come take our drink orders. "How are you and who is your lady friend?" he asked raising an eyebrow suggestively causing me to smile.

"Mark this is Brittany." I said as Mark reached across the bar to shake Brittany's hand "Brittany, Mark."

"Nice to meet you Brittany. What can I get you two gorgeous ladies to drink tonight?" He asked.

"Hmmm…" Brittany said obviously thinking, "How bout a buttered muffin."

'Holy shit' I thought trying and failing to suppress my laughter.

"Girl…" Mark said flamboyantly as I continued to laugh at their exchange, "you are really in the wrong place if you want that."

"How bout two Coronas" I chimed in between giggles hoping to stop this conversation from going any further.

As Mark went to grab the beers Brittany innocently turned to me and asked "What was that about?"

"It's just not a very popular drink in this place." I responded trying to mask my amusement. "None of these guys are into buttered muffins."

"Why not, what's a buttered muffin?" she asked.

I wanted to keep the charade going because it was just too funny, but I couldn't hide the truth from her any longer it was almost becoming painful. "Britt, at the club all the bartenders are required to create a signature shot and I thought it would be funny if my shot was called a buttered muffin."

"Why?" she asked causing me to think for a minute on how to proceed.

"Because muffin is a slang word for pussy." I said waiting to gage her reaction, "Which would mean a buttered pussy is a…"

"Ohhhhhh…You're right. I guess that wouldn't be very popular in this place." She said causing us both to burst into a fit of laughter looking around at all the men seeking men in this place.

After Mark returned with our beers we grabbed a table close to the stage and waited for the show to start.

"So why do you like this place so much?" Brittany asked after sitting down.

"Well, there are actually a couple reasons I come here. One- it's one of the few places where I don't feel like a piece of meat. Cause clearly…" I said motioning to the crowd, "none of these guys are after what I can offer and being in my line of work that is a real relief. "And two-" I began as Brittany listened intently, "I have always secretly wanted to be a performer whether that is singing, acting, or whatever… and this place has the best karaoke in the city."

"Wow, I didn't know you liked to sing."

"Not many people do which is kinda why I brought you here… I wanted to share a part of myself that not many people get to see." I said finding it surprisingly easy to tell Brittany about one of my dreams.

"Are you gonna sing?" she asked reaching across the table to hold my hand.

"I'll sing, but it'll have to wait until the Mistresses of ceremony get things started." I said feeling her fingers sliding through mine almost to the point of distraction.

"Mistresses…?" she questioned looking confused. "We're like the only two women in this place…"

"You'll see…" I responded with a smirk

Brittany and I continued to talk about nothing in particular until the lights flickered and the music faded causing us to halt our conversation and look towards the stage, waiting with anticipation for what was coming next. Suddenly, masked by a cloud of fog and dressed in drag two of the biggest and most popular drag queens in the city appeared.

_Clocks strikes upon the hour,  
>And the sun begins to fade.<br>Still enough time to figure out,  
>How to chase my blues away.<br>I've done alright up 'til now,  
>It's the light of day that shows me how,<br>And when the night falls, loneliness calls._

The crowd literally went nuts as the two drag queens danced around the stage singing Whitney Houston's I Wanna Dance With Somebody. How their feet even fit in those six inch heels was beyond me let alone how they danced in them. 'Who knew they even made size 18 pumps.' I thought, hoping the heels wouldn't buckle under the drag queens weight.

_Oh! I wanna dance with somebody.  
>I wanna feel the heat with somebody.<br>Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody,  
>With somebody who loves me. <em>

I watched Brittany through most of the second half of the song as she happily began to sing and dance along. 'She really is adorable' I thought as the performance continued with both of the drag queens performing some type of a salsa move.

_Oh! I wanna dance with somebody.  
>I wanna feel the heat with somebody.<br>Yeah! I wanna dance with somebody,  
>With somebody who loves me. <em>

When Sofonda sang the next verse I couldn't help but chuckle as they tried to dance seductively. Unfortunately for them it didn't come across as seductive at all; at least in my opinion it didn't. It actually looked hysterical as they belted out the closing sequence.

_I need a man who'll take a chance,  
>On a love that burns hot enough to last.<br>So when the night falls,  
>My lonely heart calls.<em>

The song finished and the crowd roared with applause as the men in drag curtsied accepting the praise.

"Thank you! Thank you!" They said in unison soaking up the adoration.

"I see it looks like we have some new faces in the crowd tonight and normally we need no introduction, do we girl?" the large more feminine looking one asked.

"God no!" the other one responded waving the statement off like it was the most absurd statement ever made.

"But I guess with all the fresh meat in here tonight I can make an exception." She stated "I'm Sofonda Cox and this is my BEAUTIFUL partner Sharon Husbands. Now I know there is no one in here that could possibly hold a candle or follow up a performance like ours but there has got to be someone brave enough to try." Sofonda asked challenging the bar.

"Oh Daniel" Sofonda said as a hand off to the side started to wave frantically, "How did I know you would be the first brave soul to try to improve upon perfection. What are you gonna sing for us tonight honey?"

"Karma Chameleon by Culture Club" Daniel responded excitedly.

"Oh sweetheart…" Sharon said with attitude "that is one of my personal favorites. Get your sweet ass up here and show us your best Boy George impression."

As Daniel danced around the stage in his nut hugging jean shorts doing his best impression of a cockatoo having a seizure I turned to Brittany to see her reaction.

"So what do you think?" I asked squeezing her hand to get her attention.

"This is amazing." She said beaming "I can see why you like it here."

"Do you sing at all?" I questioned

"Well only in the shower, but I was in Glee club in high school."

"No way so was I." I told her shocked that we found something in common. "So am I gonna get to see a Brittany S. Pierce performance tonight?"

"I-I don't know." She said sounding apprehensive "We'll see how the night goes. You might have to keep these beers coming if you want me to get up on that stage."

Immediately, I motioned to one of the servers to bring two more beers over causing Brittany to smack me in the shoulder. "Ow…" I said rubbing my shoulder "That hurt."

"Don't be such a baby" Brittany said watching me continue to rub my shoulder, "that was just a love tap."

A few more songs passed. Some worse than others, particularly this last guy's version of Madonna's Lucky Star. 'That was especially tragic' I thought. Sharon actually looked like she was going to cut him off after he started crawling around on the floor like a dog in heat.

"That was just dreadful" Sofonda said, trying to sound like Simon Cowell once Fido finished his song. "Please tell me we have someone out there that can rid my mind of that rubbish."

I raised my hand, waiting for Sofonda to see me before I started walking to the stage. Before I made it all the way to the stage I looked over my shoulder one last time and winked at Brittany hoping she would be impressed with my performance.

"Santana Lopez everyone" Sofonda said announcing me to the crowd. "Please welcome the only lesbian I know with bigger balls than me."

"Girl… you better stop the press!" Sharon announced out of no where "You are not gonna believe this but I think our resident lesbian is on a date tonight. Satan has been canoodling for the past couple hours with that cute little blonde sitting over there." She said point in Brittany's direction.

Sofonda cocked her hips questioningly and looked at me in absolute shock. I had to admit it was kinda understandable since whenever I came in in the past I was always alone. "Could it be…?" she asked trying to make a scene "Has our favorite lesbian found a lady lover?"

"Listen Chaka Khan…" I said biting back verbally, "I'm on a date so if you embarrass me I promise I will cut off those balls you are trying so hard to hide in that tight dress of yours and feed them to the pit-bull in the back ally."

"Girl…" Sharon chimed in from the back of the room "You better do what she says I think she means business and besides I like your balls where they are."

"Santana the stage is all your chicka." Sofonda said backing off in surrender.

I heard the steady beat and heavy breathing before the words came on the screen and I took that last little bit of time to establish eye contact with Brittany. I really wanted her to hear me sing and know that I was sharing something with her that few people got to see. I hoped she would pick up on the song choice. It wasn't just a random song. This song had a purpose and meaning behind it…

_Take a breath, take it deep  
>Calm yourself, he says to me<br>If you play, you play for keeps  
>Take a gun, and count to three<br>I'm sweating now, moving slow  
>No time to think, my turn to go<em>

_And you can see my heart beating  
>You can see it through my chest<br>And I'm terrified but I'm not leaving  
>Know that I must pass this test<br>So just pull the trigger_

I continued to sing to the crowd, but I never broke eye contact with Brittany. The lyrics to this song were actually kinda scary how perfect they were knowing everything I had been through and knowing everything I was trying to move towards.

_Say a prayer to yourself  
>He says close your eyes<br>Sometimes it helps  
>And then I get a scary thought<br>That he's here means he's never lost_

Brittany watched as I walked casually back and forth across the stage trying as best I could to convey my emotions through the song. It seemed to be working because everyone, Brittany included, seemed to be mesmerized by my rendition of Rihanna's Russian Roulette. It being such an atypical karaoke song I was a little worried how the crowd would take it considering karaoke was supposed to be upbeat and this song certainly was not, but from the looks of things no one seemed to mind.

_And you can see my heart beating  
>You can see it through my chest<br>And I'm terrified but I'm not leaving  
>Know that I must pass this test<br>So just pull the trigger_

As I finished the last verse I took one final moment to consider the lyrics. If being with Brittany was my test I knew it was a test I was prepared to take and test I would do anything to pass. I was finally ready to let someone in and I only hoped she felt the same.

"WOW!" Sofonda cheered after I sang the last note. "Give it up for Santana Lopez…"

I accepted the applause and quickly walked off the stage back to Brittany. I could get all the applause in the world, but the only person whose opinion mattered at the moment was hers.

Sitting down I waited. "Well…?" I asked starting to get self-conscious taking Brittany's hesitation as a bad sign.

After a long pause she spoke "That was incredible!" she said looking me in the eyes and scooting across the table to swallow me in a passionate kiss. Instinctively I reached behind her head hoping to hold onto this kiss a little longer. Brittany must have felt the same because she easily opened up to me and allowed me to slip my tongue between her lips. I breathed in deeply, tasting what the blonde had to offer before purposefully threading my fingers through her soft blonde hair to trail my fingers down her throat, pulling away.

"Glad you liked it." I cooed smiling almost drunkenly, tasting her lip gloss still on my lips.

"You have a gift." Brittany said adoringly. "You should pursue singing. You are totally talented enough to make it."

"I've tried." I said knowing I would have to tell her about that part of my life at some point.

"A few years back all I did was go on audition after audition trying to hit it big, but it's hard to make it as a professional singer. New York certainly isn't an easy place to live in when you're broke. Between the constant rejection and living on practically nothing I just couldn't do it anymore. It came to a point where I only had five bucks in my pocket and I was close to living on the streets. That's when I met this woman at the club I bartended at to make ends meat. She was an escort and she made it sound so easy, even glamorous. One night I finally broke down and tried it. It was by far the worst night of my life, but eventually it got easier and the money certainly helped justifying in my mind why I was doing it so…" I said pausing, "Here I am… still doing it today."

"It must have been hard." She said squeezing my hands in support for which I was appreciative. "Not that I'm saying you should quit your job because that's your decision, but if you ever want to give singing another try maybe I could talk to my friend Rachel. She has been in a few off Broadway productions and she might know someone who could help you get started."

"Britt, there really is no point because the minute they find out about my side job…" I said pausing "let's just say not landing the role would be the least of my worries."

"But…" she said hoping to push the topic further.

"Britt, really it's no big deal." I said trying to make light of our discussion. "I'm not gonna be an escort forever, I know that, but for now it's what I do. Eventually I might pursue singing again, but right now it would be difficult to get out of this business for multiple reasons that I don't want to go into at the moment."

"But…" she said again trying to prod me.

"Brittany, I have my reasons and I don't think it's wise to go into them here. I will tell you just not in a karaoke bar surrounded by drag queens." I said signaling the end to this conversation.

"Okay, but if you ever want me to talk to Rachel just say the word."

"I will. And thank you for the offer. It means a lot." I said turning back to the karaoke for a much needed distraction.

I was happy with the information I shared with Brittany. 'I hope she takes it as a sign I'm trying to open up and include her in my life. I really want to tell her the whole story, but at this point it was probably better to leave some parts out. In no way do I want Brittany involved in anything related to my job or to Figgins. It's too dangerous to have her knowing everything right now and if not knowing will keep her safe than that is the price I'm willing to pay' I thought, trying to look focused on the really bad version of Backstreet Boys, I Want It That Way, that was presently being sung.

The rest of the night continued with more karaoke, more drag queens, more beers and no further discussion of anything remotely serious for which I was grateful. I could tell Brittany was tipsy judging by her rosy cheeks, not that I was trying to get her drunk by keeping the beers coming. 'Well at least not intentionally' I thought.

"I think I'm ready to sing." Brittany announced while dancing to some guys rendition of Wham's Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go.

"You sure?" I questioned grabbing her hand to steady her drunken sway.

"Yup! And I have the perfect song." She stated running to sign up for the next available slot.

'Oh dear Lord' I thought. 'This is gonna be interesting. God only knows what kinda song she thinks is perfect.'

I watched as Sofonda announced Brittany's name and the crowd looked towards her curiously. 'Please let this turn out okay' I thought as she gave a head nod to start the music before returning her gaze to smile brightly at me.

_Look for the bare necessities  
>The simple bare necessities<br>Forget about your worries and your strife  
>I mean the bare necessities<br>Old Mother Nature's recipes  
>That brings the bare necessities of life<em>

Immediately, hearing the choice of song my chin practically fell to the floor in shock. 'Is that… a Disney song?' I thought looking around to see that I wasn't alone in my reaction.

_The bare necessities of life will come to you  
>They'll come to you!<em>

As Brittany continued to sing her happy tune oblivious to the reactions of everyone else in the bar the strangest thing started to happened… It wasn't long before all the stunned faces started to turn into small noticeable smiles, then gradually to big toothy gins and soon the entire bar was happily dancing along to Brittany's giddy performance. It was almost like Brittany's glee was contagious and I no longer felt the need to hold in my own.

_Look for the bare necessities  
>The simple bare necessities<br>Forget about your worries and your strife  
>I mean the bare necessities<br>That's why a bear can rest at ease  
>With just the bare necessities of life<em>

I had to admit this song was perfect for the blonde. It was naïve enough to be adorable and fitting enough to force me to actually take in the words. 'I mean the bare necessities of life will come to you…' Who would have thought by accepting Puck's proposal that I would find someone I could trust and that she would accept me and my job. 'Not me …' I thought.

_And don't spend your time lookin' around  
>For something you want that can't be found<br>When you find out you can live without it  
>And go along not thinkin' about it<br>I'll tell you something true_

_The bare necessities of life will come to you_

Brittany finished her song and got the biggest round of applause of the night. She sheepishly bowed in acceptance, skipping off the stage and running into my arms.

"You were awesome!" I said into her neck before kissing the side of her head and pulling away. "That fake back scratching thing you did was unbelievable. How did you even come up with that?"

"It's from the movie." She replied easily with a shrug of her shoulders. "I just tried to imagine ants crawling up my back making me really itchy."

"Well, it was amazing. You brought down the house. I was going to sing another song, but who could follow that up." I said motioning to some employees starting to pack away the karaoke machine. "Look even they know no one could possibly put on a better performance than that."

Brittany looked towards the crew packing up the karaoke equipment as the DJ started to play some cheesy 80's song and smiled in response.

"You wanna get out of here?" I asked "There's another place I'd like to take you."

"Sure" she said grabbing her purse as I interlocked our fingers leading her out of the bar.

"Okay you have a choice since we actually spent more time here than I thought we would. We can go to this club I really like and dance or we can go to my favorite late night diner and get our late night grub on."

"Diner" she answered surprising me. "Karaoke really works up an appetite. My stomach is singing Winnie the Pooh's Rumbly In My Tumbly song right now."

All I could do was chuckle at the blondes cute knowledge of cartoons and say "Let's go."

XXXXXXXXXX

We ate our pancakes and eventually made our way back to Brittany's apartment. It was late, but I still didn't want the night to end.

"Can I walk you up to your apartment?" I asked, not wanting to be too forward. I didn't want Brittany to think I was expecting anything beyond just walking her to her door, but I certainly wouldn't turn her down if she invited me in. In my opinion it had been an incredible date. I got to share my love of singing, we had my favorite pancakes and it even felt good knowing I had shared information from my past. The only thing missing was…

To be continued…

**AN: What could possibly be missing from their date? Find out next time. :D**

**I hope you enjoyed this fluffy chapter! I have to admit I had a hard to writing it since there was so much to balance. I hope I conveyed everything I wanted too although I'm not sure I did. I guess I'll find out in the reviews.**

**Thank you bubbaslilsis and lacksubstance for helping me organize my thoughts. It was a big help.**

**Chapter 13's playlist (It's hysterical if you picture these songs being sung in a karaoke setting. Added bonus to picture them being sung in a karaoke setting with drag queens) LOL**

**1. Whitney Houston-I Wanna Dance With Somebody sung by Sofonda Cox and Sharon Husbands**

**2. Culture Club-Karma Chameleon sung by random stranger also known as booty shorts Daniel**

**3. Madonna- Lucky Star sung by a random stranger also known as Fido**

**4. Rihanna- Russian Roulette sung by Santana Lopez**

**5. Backstreet Boys-I Want It That Way sung by random bad karaoke singer**

**6. Wham- Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go sung by random good karaoke singer**

**7. Jungle Book Movie- The Bare Necessities sung by Brittany S. Pierce**

**8. Winnie the Pooh-Rumbly In My Tumbly sung by Brittany's stomach**

**Bonus track- I was going to include this song as the song Santana hinted at singing after Britt's performance of The Bare Necessities, but thought better of it in the end. If you are anything like me when reading a story with song lyrics… I actually skip them and don't read that part. So I started to think… 'Maybe the lyrics are becoming over kill' so I cut that scene out. But for those of you who might be interested the song was Matt Nathanson- Faster. Great song and if you've heard it you can probably guess how I was going to use it given the lyrics and knowing it was a Santana song.**

**Interesting tid bit…This chapter was actually inspired by a night out with my wife, my lesbian mother-in-law and my mother-in-laws girlfriend. Those bastards tricked me into going to drag queen karaoke and for that I say… THANK YOU! It was the most hysterical thing I have ever seen (not gonna lie also a little awkward since the Sofonda Cox inspired character kept pinching my ass) LOL**

**Hope the chapter was worth the wait! Please let me know what you thought even if it's a quick this was great or that really sucked. Hopefully the former rather than the latter. :)**

**Thanks as always and take care!**


	14. It's Hot in Here

**AN: Hello to all my lovely readers. :) Thank you as always for your reviews. I'm over 200 which is incredible! (Wahoo) Also, to everyone who is just plain reading THANK YOU! Each chapter I seem to get more and more traffic reading this story. You all make it very easy to stay motivated to write. Plus, over the last few chapters I seem to have recruited some new reviewers which is great. :D Everyone is welcome on this party train, but I hope I haven't lost some of my original reviewers/readers in the process. I miss you ladies :( I hope you are only MIA for a couple chapters and not MIA permanently. :( That would make me sad. And me sad is just not natural and personally I think it should be against the law ;) so I hope to hear from some of my old friends soon. I wouldn't want anyone to break the law. ;)**

**Anyway… I hope this update helps ease the pain of not having new episodes of Glee for the next couple weeks. Unless you are a baseball fan (which lucky for me I'm a HUGE baseball fan even though the damn Phillies lost) it's probably gonna be a long cold October with no Glee to help keep you warm, but know in the mean time there is always plenty of heat to help fight the October chill over here at Playing With Fire. ;) It is after all still summer in this story.**

**I hope you enjoy chapter 14! **

**Disclaimer: I own no part of Glee, but I do own a Phillies jersey that is going into early hibernation due to their game five lose. I guess there's always next year. :(**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Santana's POV**

We ate our pancakes and eventually made our way back to Brittany's apartment. It was late, but I still didn't want the night to end.

"Can I walk you up to your apartment?" I asked, not wanting to be too forward. I didn't want Brittany to think I was expecting anything beyond just walking her to her door, but I certainly wouldn't turn her down if she invited me in. In my opinion it had been an incredible date. I got to share my love of singing, we had my favorite pancakes and it even felt good knowing I had shared information from my past. The only thing missing was…

**And now Chapter 14-It's Hot in Here**

**Santana's POV**

The night Brittany and I met we practically jogged to her apartment door. Tonight was different… I still felt my body responding to Brittany, wanting to touch and kiss her like crazy, but this time I didn't feel the need to press the issue. If Brittany wasn't ready or didn't want to take it any further than a good night kiss I wanted to make sure I gave her that option. Not that I wasn't hoping for more, because I was. God was I, but I wanted to make Brittany's first time was about her and not about me being horny and groping her into submission.

We finally made it to her apartment after walking hand in hand from a nearby parking garage.

"Home sweet home" she said unlocking the door and turning towards me. "Do you wanna come in?"

"I thought you'd never ask" I responded eagerly, thinking about all of the possibilities.

Brittany opened the door to her apartment and we were immediately slammed by a wall of hot air.

"Whoa," I said thinking out loud and feeling the hot air entering my lungs making it difficult to breathe. "It feels like a sauna in here."

"Yeah, I'm sorry! My air conditioner pooped out on me a couple days ago. The super said he was gonna fix it as soon as possible, but I guess he hasn't been able too." Brittany explained. "Let me turn on the fan. It helps a little."

"Britt a person could melt in this place." I said feeling the sweat starting to bead on my forehead. "Are you sure you wanna stay here? You can stay with me until it gets fixed? At least you won't start to wilt."

"Thank you," she responded appreciatively "but I have a feeling it's going to get fixed soon. Plus, I've been helping to choreograph this production of West Side Story for a friend of mine so rehearsals have been pretty early in the morning. It's just easier to stay here since all my stuff is here. If you don't wanna stay you don't have to…I know it's really hot and uncomfortable in here."

'How do I answer that…?' I thought looking at Brittany who appeared to be suffering from a bout of uncertainty. 'Of course I wanna stay, but a few more hours in this place and I will melt faster than Frosty the Snowman on the fourth of July.'

Deciding that a little sweat was a small price to pay to spend a little more time with the blonde I responded "I wanna stay!" as I took her hands and looked into her eyes. "I really wanna stay if that's okay?"

Brittany's smile told me everything I needed to know although she still responded, "I'm glad! Do you want a drink or something?"

'Or something…' I said to myself. There were a lot of things I wanted at the moment and a drink was probably closer to the bottom of that list, but she didn't need to know that all the things at the top involved us sweating for totally different reasons.

"I could use a drink." I said noticing how dry my mouth had suddenly become thinking about sweating with a purpose.

Brittany and I sat happily sipping our wine and talking for awhile. The topics were nothing of real significance although we did land on the topic of Puck while talking about Brittany's high school days.

"Are you ready to forgive him yet?" I asked noticing the longing in her eyes and tone.

"No! And I don't want to talk about him." She responded swiftly changing the topic back to her time in Lima but this time talking about some cat that I think she referred to as Lord Tubbington.

While we talked time passed quickly and before I knew it I noticed the blonde starting to fade. Her eyes would flutter closed a little longer than the previous time which made me giggle at her adorable effort to stay awake.

"You look exhausted…Do you wanna go to sleep?" I asked cupping her cheek

"No," she responded through a cute yawn "besides it's too hot to sleep."

"You are just too cute." I said leaning in to kiss her softly.

As we continued to kiss slowly in the middle of the Brittany's living room my hands started to gradually roam around her body. With each touch, new territory was charted and cataloged in my mind for further discovery at a later time. It was easy to get swept up in the moment while kissing Brittany. I could taste the wine on her tongue as our tongues danced easily with each other. I could taste the flavor of her lip gloss as I mapped the feel of her lips gliding with mine and I could feel the heat radiating from her body hidden just below her shirt as my hands traced over her firm midsection.

A simple kiss, that's all it was and yet it ignited such desire as I felt a rush of wetness beginning to pool between my legs. How was it even possible for something so sweet to bring on such an intense craving? 'I want her. I want her so much.' I thought as I gripped her hips harder causing a subtle moan to escape both of our lips. I still wasn't sure if she wanted more or if she was content with just kissing.

Just then I got an idea. It was genius in my opinion. It would give me a chance to explore her physically and it was probably innocent enough for Brittany to be okay with it as well. And if she wasn't okay than this kiss felt like more than enough as I pulled away, sighing and pressing my forehead to hers.

"Do you trust me?" I asked looking into her deep blue eyes.

"Yes…" she practically sighed out.

"Then come with me." I said taking her hand and leading her to her bedroom.

**Brittany's POV**

Stopping at the foot of the bed Santana brought both of my hands up to her lips and kissed the back of my left hand. I wasn't sure what she had in mind by bringing me to the bedroom after asking if I trusted her, but before I could process my nervous thoughts further she whispered against the back of my hand "It's hot as Hell in here!"

Santana's comment caused both us to squeak out small chuckles of laughter which helped ease my worry and break the tension that had settled in the room.

Just as my nerves had settled to a low simmer Santana took off her shirt which brought them back to an immediate boil.

"It's too hot to sleep in this" she stated holding out her shirt. At least I think that's what she said considering I never saw her mouth move because my eyes were obviously locked elsewhere. "Is this okay?" she asked.

My mouth was watering and I was afraid I might be drooling as I took in the sight of Santana in her bra. I'm sure she noticed the lump I swallowed as I tried to pull my eyes unsuccessfully away from her breasts.

"Umm…" I said wishing that something more intelligent had come out, but finding it difficult to think of anything more than a one syllable mumble given the distraction in front of me.

"Britt it's okay." Santana said reassuring me and squeezing my hands "I don't wanna do anything you aren't ready for so if there is ever anything that you don't wanna do just tell me."

Thinking about Santana's words and how sincere they seemed I realized that it was okay. In fact it was more than okay because the sight of her breasts were pretty incredible once I got over my initial shock.

"I'm okay with it. It is pretty hot in here and one less layer will probably help." I said finally meeting her eyes, causing her to smile.

Before I knew what was happening she leaned in and kissed me again. Unfortunately, unlike last time this kiss was short. 'Too short' I thought as she pulled away.

"Britt I have an idea that might help us cool off, but it involves you wearing much less clothing." She said making it sound more like a question than a statement.

I was a little hesitant, but it wasn't like she hadn't seen me half naked already and at this point anything that might help beat this heat was a welcome option even without the added bonus of seeing Santana without her shirt on.

"What did you have in mind?" I asked sheepishly.

Without a word Santana dropped my hands and pulled at the hem of my shirt to guide the material over my head. We stared at each other for a minute and for a brief moment I felt self-conscious. The feel of Santana's eyes felt like they were burning holes into my skin and it was almost too much to take, but I knew I really had no reason to be self-conscious. Santana said nothing would happen that I didn't want to happen so if I felt uncomfortable all I had to do was speak up and she would stop.

Lost in my moment of doubt I almost missed Santana reaching for the button on my jeans, releasing it with a pop and pulling the zipper down. The zipping sound was magnified as each thread came undone. It was almost like all my senses were heightened. I could smell Santana's perfume that I hadn't noticed earlier, I could hear Santana's breathing (well actually that might have been my own) and I could still taste the wine we had finished drinking over an hour ago lingering on my tongue.

The zipper finally bottomed out and Santana brought her hands up to my hips resting them there before gradually beginning to skillfully knead the sides of my hips. After a moment I felt her loop her thumbs inside my jeans and pull down. I stepped out carefully using her shoulder for balance since I didn't trust my balance on its own and looked at Santana hoping for some hint on what was coming next.

Before I could assume anything further Santana easily had removed her jeans as well. We stood in front of each other in the bare minimum as far as clothing goes and I nervously waited for Santana to take the next step.

Even though it was probably no more than a second or two, it felt like forever before Santana again placed her hands on my hips and guided me back to sit on the edge of the bed.

"Just try and relax" she said leaning in to kiss me softly one more time.

Kissing Santana I quickly discovered was something I could never grow tired of and something I couldn't seem to get enough of as I unfortunately felt Santana pull away.

"Lay on your stomach for me" she instructed which caused me to balk for a moment. Eventually, I still did as she asked and scooted into the center of the bed to grab a pillow and tuck it under my armpits, getting comfortable. After settling into place I waited for Santana's next request.

With each passing second I felt my anxiety level rise. I swear it felt like Santana was doing this on purpose to make me wait until it was absolutely unbearable to withstand the anticipation of her next move any longer. After another nerve wracking pause I finally felt the mattress dip as Santana crawled towards me.

"Just relax and enjoy this." She whispered only millimeters away from my ear.

Suddenly and without warning she blew an extended breath of cool air onto my shoulder. The action surprised me and I froze for a second, feeling goose bumps starting to rise.

I wasn't sure if Santana's plan was helping me cool off or if it was making me hotter but before I could decide she did it again; this time blowing air further down my arm. The feel of Santana's breath at the bend of my elbow caused me to shift slightly but I didn't object. How could I? It felt amazing!

Peeking over my shoulder to watch Santana I saw the corner of her mouth turn wickedly up. She was loving this as much as I was. Her face was only an inch or so away as she continued to work her way around my shoulders and arms. As she moved around my shoulder blades she made her way to the base of my neck. Deciding to be useful I reached behind pulling my hair back hoping to give her better access to my sweet spot just below my ear. When I felt her hit that spot with a particularly crisp breath of cool air I shivered, feeling my entire body come to life and a rush of warmth shoot straight to my core.

Santana saw me shiver, I know she did since it was probably pretty hard to miss but she continued as if she hadn't seen a thing. I loved the sensation she stirred within me as I felt her travel down my back, this time paying particular attention to my lower back. The cool air she was applying was enough for me to feel my abdomen tighten and a warm fuzzy feeling start to build, but when she took it a step further and moved down over my hip to the back of my knee I lost my composure and a moan escaped. She was turning me on; there was no denying it. I felt a sharp cool breath hit the crease behind my knee forcing me to grasp my pillow, grounding myself to prevent myself from moaning even loader.

"Don't fight it." She said probably noticing my death grip on my pillow case.

At her word I loosened my grasp and allowed myself to feel everything Santana was doing to me. It felt amazing as she once again concentrated on my body spreading cool breezes from the tips of my toes to the very top of my neck.

Out of the blue I felt something more substantial; something more than a gentle breeze. I almost didn't notice it, but this time leading the way down my spine were Santana's fingers. She easily navigated through the peaks and valleys of my spine and landed at the dimples on my lower back. While her fingers worked their magic her lips quickly followed with her tortuous breath. This new action caused a few more moans to escape my mouth, but this time I didn't feel the need to hide them.

Suddenly Santana stopped and I could feel the mattress give way as she got up onto her knees to leave the bed.

"Where are you going?" I asked not caring that I sounded desperate.

"I'll be right back." she said smiling back at me.

She was true to her word and returned shortly with a bowl.

"What's that?" I asked sitting up slightly.

"Ice. I thought it might help you cool off. Lie back down." She said sitting down next to me.

I watched her place the bowl on the nightstand before grabbing an ice cube. She held it inches above my back and I gasped feeling a few drops of cold water hit my overly sensitive skin.

Santana laid the ice cube on my back causing me to gasp and arch my back in an effort to get away from the almost painfully cold cube. The ice cube was melting faster by the second spilling chilly trails of water down my sides and with each new trail of water I felt my arousal growing.

Santana took another ice cube after the previous one had completely liquefied and let it travel over my back again. It wasn't as shocking this time since my skin had adjusted to the new stimulation, but it melted none the less. Grabbing a new piece she then brought it down my back, over my hip and across my thigh. 'Oh my God' I thought as I felt the ice cube melt and the water travel down between my legs. The trail of water was enough to make my clit twitch with excitement but when Santana lowered her lips to gently blow a soft breeze along the path of water I moaned again, grasping the comforter in an effort to stop myself from losing it right then and there.

I was lost and knew I was out of control, but in no way did I want her to stop this slow exquisite torture she was applying to my body. I could feel every muscle in my body contracting and straining to keep control, but for the life of me I didn't know why I was trying to ward off this feeling.

"Britt, it's okay" she encouraged. "Don't fight it."

Taking another cube Santana glided it along the inside of my thigh.

"Oh my…" I moaned as I felt Santana's breath tickle the sensitive skin between my legs. Every nerve in my body felt like it was on high alert, readying itself for the oncoming explosion.

She continued moving the ice around my legs and down my calf before reaching my ankles. 'I can't take this much longer' I thought, feeling Santana shifting back towards my ear after the last piece had completely melted.

"You're so beautiful." She whispered, leaning close to my ear.

"San-tana…" I moaned as my breath caught in my throat. I was breathing hard now and I felt like a rubber band that was being pulled just to the point before it snaps. Santana stroked the sides of my body, slightly touching the sides of my breast which caused me to gasp yet again. I took in a deep, sharp breath and moaned as I exhaled.

"Santana" I moaned again. I wanted to grab her hand and guide it towards the heat between my legs, but something caused me to hold back. Maybe it was the thrill of the moment or maybe it was just lack of experience on my part, but either way the pleasure I was feeling was indescribable.

Suddenly I felt cold water running down the crotch of my underwear followed by a cool breath of air being applied directly to my center.

I couldn't hold back anymore. I couldn't fight it. I moaned her name, clenched my eyes and grasped my pillow, feeling heated arousal spill over the edges in intense waves of unimaginable pleasure. I was almost a little frightened with the unfamiliarity of it all, but as I twitched and shook I felt Santana grab my hand and suddenly I felt anchored. Anchored to what I'm not sure, but as the last waves rolled through me I felt safe. Like everything was going to be okay. Like no matter what Santana would be there to keep me from being sweep away.

After everything had subsided I was exhausted! What had started as a mostly innocent way to beat the heat had ended with me panting and covered in a sheen of sweat and melted ice. It was my first orgasm and something I would never forget.

"That was amazing" I said smiling and feeling the weight of my eyes drooping closed if only for a second.

"Well that's only the beginning. We both have a lot to look forward too." she said reaching out to tuck a few stray hairs behind my ear.

"Well if that is only the beginning I can't wait for more." I said as my eyes drifted shut once again.

"Britt, you look really worn out. It's okay to go to sleep?" She said giggling "Tomorrow is a new day and we have all the time in the world to discover new ways to duplicate what just happened."

Not wanting to wait, but not being able to keep my eyes open for another minute I said "Okay, thank you for the date. I had a lot of fun!"

"You're welcome and believe me so did I." She said smirking and scooting in alongside me.

With Santana tucked in next to me it wasn't long before my eyes drooped closed for the final time, 'best date ever!'

**AN: Well did you ladies expect that…? Britt is still a virgin but at least she has had her first sexual encounter. I hope I did it justice considering the people who have been reading from the beginning have been waiting a long time. I really wanted Britt to experience sexual pleasure first without actually having her lose her virginity so this is what I came up with. I have come to realize while write this story that girl on girl virginity is... well… confusing. It seems like everyone has a different opinion of what it actually takes for a woman to lose her virginity to another woman so I figured no one would think Britt lost her virginity if there had been almost no physical contact. I hope no one is disappointed since I know everyone is waiting, some more patiently then others :D (myself included) for them to seal the deal. I promise it won't be too much longer. ;) ;)**

**Let me know what you thought in the reviews. I'm particularly interested in what you thought after this chapter.**

**Take care,**

**Drew**

**AN2: Oh I almost forgot… This MIGHT be my last update for about a month. (I'm hoping to get in one more update but I might not) I referee soccer and I have a big tournament coming up so I will be away for about two and a half weeks. I'm not sure how much time I will have or how the internet service is where I'm staying so if you don't hear from me for awhile you know the reason. I will say reviews are a great motivator (hint, hint, hint if you want an update before I leave) ;) ;) Thanks for understanding. Love you ladies! **


	15. Interpreting Dreams

**AN: Hola! Greetings from Guadalajara :) Here is chapter 15. It's shorter than I would like, but it's more than I thought I could get done. Obviously, I didn't get to update before I left, but I couldn't in good conscience leave you for a month after hinting that I might get an update out especially considering how amazing everyone was after last chapter. So lucky for you I managed to squeeze in some time to write while in Mexico. Anyway, this will definitely be my last update for awhile, but I will be back, I promise so don't worry.**

**Thanks, as always to everyone who is reading this and a special thank you to Lacksubstance for being my ready at any time beta for this chapter! You're awesome!**

**Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee, but I do own about a dozen bottles of water that are currently sitting in my hotel room. What can I say, I have a sensitive stomach. Sorry to everyone reading in Mexico; no offense, but I think your water hates me!**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Brittany's POV**

After everything had subsided I was exhausted! What had started as a mostly innocent way to beat the heat had ended with me panting and covered in a sheen of sweat and melted ice. It was my first orgasm and something I would never forget.

"That was amazing." I said smiling and feeling the weight of my eyes drooping closed only for a second.

"Well that's only the beginning. We both have a lot to look forward too." she said reaching out to tuck a few stray hairs behind my ear.

"Well if that is only the beginning I can't wait for more." I said as my eyes drifted shut once again.

"Britt, you look really worn out. It's okay to go to sleep?" She said giggling. "Tomorrow is a new day and we have all the time in the world to discover new ways to duplicate what just happened."

Not wanting to wait, but not being able to keep my eyes open for another minute I said "Okay, thank you for the date. I had a lot of fun!"

"You're welcome and believe me so did I." She said smirking and scooting in alongside me.

With Santana tucked in next to me it wasn't long before my eyes drooped closed for the final time, thinking 'best date ever!'

**And now Chapter 15- Interpreting Dreams**

**Brittany's POV**

I had fallen asleep in Santana's arms, half naked and physically satiated for the first time in my life. I could hardly believe that I, Brittany Pierce, had found someone like her. In many ways Santana was completely opposite from the person I met that first night at my party. She was sweet, tender, caring, and she respected my boundaries, but there was also something else; something that I hadn't noticed earlier. I couldn't quite figure it out, but when I woke up in the middle of the night to Santana softly crying, I knew I was right. There was definitely more going on with Santana than she had let on.

It's not like I expected Santana to tell me her life story after only a little over a week, but I certainly didn't want her to have to hide parts of herself from me either. I mean, I took the news of Santana's job as well as anyone could and if that didn't prove that I would understand almost anything, I don't know what would.

After trying to soothe her for a minute or two I heard Santana mumble in her sleep, "No, don't, please_…" _

Her words immediately peaked my curiosity as I continued to try and comfort her with soft gentle strokes to her back and calming words in her ear, but the harder I tried the more she got upset. 'What could possibly be upsetting her so much?' I thought. Whatever she was dreaming about was obviously not good because I could feel her heart hammering against my chest as she continued to softly sob into my neck.

"I'll do whatever you want just leave Brittany out of it," she spoke, this time on the verge of panic.

'Oh my God, she's dreaming about me.' I thought, shocked that she was so upset and I was somehow involved.

I continued to stroke Santana's back while trying to piece together the incomplete pieces of the puzzle, but found it impossible. The only thing I knew was that Santana seemed afraid for me for some reason. 'But why? What could she possibly be trying to protect me from?'

As I continued to process Santana's garbled sleep talk I unfortunately realized my efforts to console her were for not, if anything she was actually starting to get more agitated. 'It's time… I have to wake her.'

"Santana…" I said carefully shaking her shoulders "Wake up."

Jolting quickly back to consciousness and head butting me a little in the process, Santana awoke. She looked terrified as she scanned the room trying to figure out where she was and what was going on.

"Hey, it's okay." I said cupping Santana's cheek in an effort to get her to focus on me and bring her back to reality. "You were having a bad dream."

Santana looked at me for a moment before looking back around the room.

"It's okay, everything's alright." I said as I felt Santana sigh, drooping back into my embrace. "Do you wanna talk about it?"

Taking a deep breath and scooting in closer to lie against my chest she said "It was just a dream. There's nothing to talk about. I'm fine; I don't even really remember."

"You sure…?" I said prodding and hoping to figure out what role I played in this nightmare of hers. "You seemed really frightened."

"I'm sure." She said absent-mindedly playing with the edge of the sheet. "I'm sorry I woke you. I didn't mean to worry you."

"It's okay. I'm just sorry you had a bad dream." I responded brushing her hair away from her face.

"It's not your fault. Besides I never remember my dreams and considering how puffy my eyes are I guess that's a good thing." She said making me believe she really might not remember.

"You know, you talk in your sleep…" I stated, indicating that I might already know something about her dream so if she did remember she might want to tell me.

"I do…" she responded curiously "What did I say?"

"You said, _No,_ _don't, please… _and_ I'll do whatever you want just don't hurt Brittany,_ or something like that." I said hoping it would help jog her memory or push her to explain.

"Hmm, that's weird. I don't remember…" she stated plainly as I realized she was telling the truth.

"I can't believe you never remember your dreams; that stinks! I always remember my dreams. Sometimes it's great because I wake up in the morning happy because I dreamt about something nice, like cats, or ducks, or even you, but other times it's a curse because…"

"Wait…" Santana said interrupting me "You dream about me…"

"Well…" I said hesitating; realizing my words once again just came spilling out, without thinking. "Maybe once or twice."

"What do you dream about?" She asked curiously since I obviously peaked her interest.

"Umm..." I said trying to stall and come up with a way out of what could potentially be a very embarrassing conversation. "Stuff…"

"What kinda stuff?" she asked lifting her upper body off my chest to look at me quizzically.

"Well," I said deciding to start with the innocent dream in the hopes that Santana wouldn't press the issue further. "The other night I dreamt you and I went to Disney World where we got to ride the rides, but then somehow out of nowhere the park manager told us that Mickey and Minnie went missing and we had to take their place." Santana looked at me like I was speaking Korean. "You make a very cute Minnie Mouse, by the way."

"That's it! You dreamt I dressed up as Minnie Mouse…There was nothing more?" she asked sounding disappointed.

"Well…" I said hesitating again "there was this other dream..."

"Okaaaay…" she said encouraging me to go on, but sounding a little skeptical that it would be of the variety she wanted to hear about.

"We were spies… and we had to go on this mission to take down this international crime organization."

"And...?" she encouraged again.

"And you made things really interesting…"

**Brittany's bedroom sometime late last night…**

_It was a simple mission. All Santana and I had to do was find a way to intercept stolen Intel that was being sent to Hector Ramirez. Hector Ramirez was the supposed leader of a drug and human trafficking ring, operating out of Panama. _

_At least it should have been simple, but nothing was ever simple when Santana Lopez was your partner._

_"What's wrong?" Santana questioned, after taking notice to my hostile behavior. "Don't tell me you're still upset about the mission? We got out of there, didn't we?"_

_"Barely…! Why can't you ever just follow instructions? Why do you always have to go off mission? This time it almost got both of us killed and now you're acting like it's nothing. Santana you can't do stuff like that! What if I hadn't been there… what do you think would have happened to you?"_

_"Okay, what's this about?" Santana asked curiously "Is this about me going off mission or is this about you being concerned for me?"_

"_This is about you going off mission!" I said quickly, starting to get angry that Santana was trying to change the subject. "You always make everything hard. Just once, I would like to go on a mission and not have to worry about you getting us both killed because you have to do things your way."_

_Santana looked at me curiously and during that time I even started to wonder if I was being truthful. 'Could she be right? Could I secretly have been more upset at the thought that I could lose her?' _

"_You're lying!" She finally said, starting to walk towards me. "It's okay, you can say it… You worry about me. Just admit it!"_

"_You're dreaming!" I said turning away, stubbornly._

"_No…" Santana said grabbing my wrist. "I dream about this..."_

_Before I knew what was happening Santana pulled me towards her, grabbed the back of my neck and kissed me._

_I was so stunned by this turn of events that I couldn't even put up a fight. 'What's going on?' I thought, as Santana ripped open my shirt causing buttons to fly everywhere and pushing me against the wall._

"_Tell me to stop…" she breathed out while frantically kissing my throat._

"_Santana…" I responded, trying to get her attention in an effort to halt this quickly escalating situation. Unfortunately, my tone betrayed me because if anything her name came out as more of a pleasurable moan than an effort to stop things from going further._

_Santana took my response as consent because after placing a few more sloppy kisses down my neck she easily reached around my back and popped open the clasp to my bra. She took a few seconds to stare at my breasts in awe before leaning forward to begin kissing her way down my chest to lightly tease my areola with her tongue. _

_I still wasn't sure how we got here, but at this point I really didn't care as I felt Santana take my already hard nipple in her mouth. She briefly pulled back to look at me before once again focusing her attention on the outer edges of my other breast, causing me to gasp with barely controlled desire. _

_I'd never wanted someone to touch me like I wanted Santana to touch me right now. Finally, I couldn't take her teasing any longer._

_"Santana, please, touch me, now!" I begged._

_My words caused Santana to momentarily stop her attack on my chest to gaze up at me with an almost devilish smile on her face._

_Carefully she grabbed the sides of my jeans and pulled them down, kissing every bit of exposed flesh as she went._

_"You're amazing" she whispered against my ankle, tasting the skin there. She nipped at the tender flesh at the back of my knee and I whimpered, opening my legs to her. I felt wetness pool between my legs, thick and moistening my panties – the only article of clothing I still had left._

_The harsh fabric of her jeans scraped roughly against my legs, sending delicious sparks of pleasure shooting through my system._

_"Santana, please," I panted._

_Her head was between my legs and the sight alone made my eyes roll back and my back arch, but that was before I felt her searing tongue slowly work its way north, scraping her teeth along the sensitive skin of my inner thigh._

_She looked up at me, her hair falling softly over her shoulders, and grinned at my obvious weakened and extremely aroused state._

_"Mmmm, you look so good" she purred._

_"Oh God, Santana," I gasped._

_And then my panties were on the floor, lying on top of her already discarded shirt, as Santana crawled up my body to face me. Reaching up with one hand, she cupped my cheek silently, staring deeply into my eyes._

"_I care about you too," she whispered, brushing a few strands of hair away from my face. "I tried to deny it, but I can't deny it any longer. I want you Brittany!"_

_I smiled at her declaration and leaned down to kiss her. Just as we were starting to really get into the kiss I felt something slide against my entrance causing me to moan into her mouth, arching and breaking the kiss._

_With her chest, brushing against my taut nipples, Santana slowly entered me with one finger. Immediately, I felt my walls stretch and spasm in pleasure, forcing me to grab her arms and push my hips up into her hand, sinking deeper._

_"God, Brittany," she groaned, gritting her teeth. "You feel amazing!"_

_We built up a steady rhythm, pushing and pulling against each other. It wasn't long before I began thrashing about wildly, arching and bucking beneath Santana's ministrations. Our mouths were fused together with Santana's fingers buried deep inside of me. I had never felt such pleasure and I couldn't imagine anything ever feeling better. _

_I screamed out long, wordless cries into the dark, hot night as Santana continued to fuck me with her talented fingers. Finally, Santana hit a particularly sensitive spot and a white-hot spark began to spread from my abdomen, down to my groin._

"_Santana, I'm cooommiiinnng!" I shouted_

_The waves of pleasure and contentment I felt were unlike anything I'd ever known or anything I'd known even existed. The aftershocks of my orgasm were just starting to calm down as Santana watched me with a bemused smirk._

"_You okay?" She asked_

"_Yeah, that was unbelievable." I responded, pulling her close._

"_You sure you don't like me going off mission?" she asked, smirking._

"_I'm sure!" I responded looking at her sideways "but, once the mission is over feel free to improvise whenever." _

**Present day**

"Damn…!" Santana said looking dumbfounded. "That was really hot. I think we might have to reenact that dream at some point."

"I can't believe I just told you that..." I responded shyly, covering my face with my hands.

"I'm glad you did." She stated pulling my hands back and stroking them with the pads of her thumbs. "I love how honest and open you are. I wish I was as open as you."

"You can…" I said hoping it would give her the courage to tell me what she hinted at earlier at the bar or maybe what she dreamt about.

"I know. It's just hard for me to talk about certain things." She said looking away almost shamefully. "But I'm trying…"

"I know you are and I appreciate everything you've told me." I said wanting to make sure she knew that I recognized her effort. "I just don't want you to ever feel like you can't tell me something..."

Santana sat there for a few seconds pondering my words and I thought optimistically for a moment she was going to speak up and tell me what she was hiding.

"Thanks!" she said as I felt my spirit deflate, knowing that was all I was going to get for tonight. "You should get some sleep. I know you have an early morning tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I said feeling Santana inching closer, but knowing sleep would be tough to find given the thoughts running through my mind.

"Goodnight Britt."

"Goodnight" I responded.

**AN:** **Well, what did you think? I'm thinking my next story might be an AU spy story with the girls… I really enjoyed writing that dream since it was so different from anything I've written so far. So what do you think? Does it have promise?**

**Also, I know this chapter kinda seemed like a one shot because the dream was such a big part of the chapter, but know everything else that took place is really going to drive how this story proceeds over the next few chapters.**

**Lastly, I'm not sure if I'll be able to respond to your reviews for this chapter because the internet connection here sucks, but know that I am reading them and I will respond when I get back to the US or if I somehow find another way.**

**Thanks as always for reading and take care!**

**Buenas Noches**

**Drew**


	16. Reasons For Concern

**AN: Hi everyone. SORRY! :( I know… believe me I know. It's been WAY too long and again, I'm sorry. I do have a lot of reasons why, but only a few are good so I won't bore you with them, but I will say writers block is a **_**real bitch**_**! Oh and if anyone is interested in opening a Dairy Queen near Wilmington, Delaware I would be appreciative. Why, you ask… :) Well, my wife has been craving it nonstop for weeks and the nearest Dairy Queen is about 30 minutes away which means both me and my car are running on empty. I can promise you regular business since I'm presently the world's greatest Dairy Queen customer and much more regular Playing With Fire updates if anyone decides this is a good business idea. ;)**

**Anyway… hopefully the long wait wasn't too much of a turn off and everyone is still with me and interested in the continuation of this story. I do have a lot of good stuff still planned provided everyone is still interested. **

**Oh and I almost forgot… check out my profile. I created a poll to see whose POV is most wanted for the big 'V' scene. Take a second and vote. I'm curious if you are a giver or a receiver? :o FAN, I meant are you a (Santana) giver or (Brittany) receiver fan? :o I know what team I'm on, but I wanna know about you ladies. ;) ;) Sorry…! That statement wasn't supposed to sound so pervy. Then again… *smirk* maybe it was. ;)**

**Thanks for all the nagging, I mean support ;) in getting me back to writing. I hope you enjoy the final product! Again, sorry for the wait! I'll do better, I promise. (My fingers may or may not have been crossed when I said that) So… in the event that my fingers were crossed I can promise at the very least I will try to do better.**

**Happy reading!**

**Disclaimer: Don't own glee, but I do own some great Tequila that I brought back from Mexico. Note to self- next time you're in Mexico only drink Tequila. It's much safer than the water. :) **

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Brittany's POV**

"Damn…!" Santana said looking dumbfounded. "That was really hot. I think we might have to reenact that dream at some point."

"I can't believe I just told you that..." I responded shyly, covering my face with my hands.

"I'm glad you did." She stated pulling my hands back and stroking them with the pads of her thumbs. "I love how honest and open you are. I wish I was as open as you."

"You can…" I said hoping it would give her the courage to tell me what she hinted at earlier on our date or maybe what she was so frightened about in her dream.

"I know. It's just hard for me to talk about certain things." She said looking away almost shamefully. "But I'm trying…"

"I know you are and I appreciate everything you've told me." I said wanting to make sure she knew that I recognized that she was trying. "I just don't want you to ever feel like you can't tell me something..."

Santana sat there for a few seconds pondering my words and I thought optimistically for a moment she was going to speak up and tell me what she was hiding.

"Thanks!" she said as I felt my spirit deflate knowing that was all I was going to get for tonight. "You should get some sleep. I know you have an early morning tomorrow."

"Yeah, I guess you're right." I said feeling Santana inching closer, but knowing sleep would be tough to find given the questions running through my mind.

"Goodnight Britt" she said leaning in to give me a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Goodnight" I responded as I wrapped my arms around her petite frame, thinking 'I hope whatever Santana is still hiding doesn't blow up in both of our faces.'

**And now Chapter 16- Reasons For Concern**

**Brittany's POV**

_Bing! Bing! Bing!_

_Good Mor-ning_

I could hear the happy tune of my alarm, greeting the day with its normal glee, but unfortunately today I didn't share its sentiment. I was wide awake for the better part of the night, sick with worry about potential reasons and possibilities as to why Santana might still be keeping something from me.

_Bing! Bing! Bing!_

_BA-BA-BA-BOW-BOW-BOW-BA-BA-BOW_

Stretching with a groan at hearing the annoying ringtone at 6am on a Sunday no less, I reached over to my bedside table to hit dismiss on my phone. I fumbled around for a second trying to find it, but only managing to find a cold empty table and no phone. I groaned once again trying to clear the cobwebs from my restless night to remember where I left it.

_Good Mor-ning_

_BA-BA-BA-BOW-BOW-BOW-BA-BA-BOW_

Following the sound of the now blaring jingle to my bureau on the other side of the bed I quickly jumped out of bed realizing it was right next to Santana who somehow was still asleep.

_Good Mor-ning_

_BA-BA-BA-BOW-BOW-BOW-BA-BA-BOW_

_Beautiful Day_

'Crap' I thought racing around the bed hearing the closing verse.

_BA-BA-BA-BOW_

_It's a Beautiful Day!_

I finally grabbed it just as the ringtone finished and looked down and was stunned to see Santana still unconscious. 'Wow, she is one heavy sleeper' I thought breathing in a sigh of relief and taking a minute to watch the slow gentle rise and fall of the Latina's chest. Unlike a few days ago while watching Santana sleep, today her features were soft, one might even say peaceful. It was nice to see and I couldn't stop myself from reaching out to brush some soft brown hair away from her remarkably still closed eye lids. Seeing the Latina like this, so at ease and without an ounce of strain made me start to wonder, 'maybe I'm wrong. Maybe I spent the entire night worrying for nothing. If Santana wasn't worried, why should I? Maybe that dream was just that; just a dream. Not all dreams have to mean something' I told myself in an effort to force myself to believe it was true.

After standing rooted with my feet sticking to the floor I finally summoned the strength to tear my eyes away from Santana long enough to check my messages. Nothing too pressing I came to find out, but I did have a text from Mike reminding me that I needed to be at the studio by 8am and I also had two new messages from Puck, probably still trying to plead his case in the hopes that I would forgive him.

Not bothering to read Puck's messages and sighing this time out of frustration, I clicked delete.

After taking one last glance at Santana, I smiled and slowly started walking to the bathroom to take a shower.

After my shower and making up my mind that I had made too big a deal out of Santana's nightmare, I felt rejuvenated. It also didn't hurt that after exiting the bathroom I saw Santana sleeping peacefully in my bed. Glancing at my watch to check the time I realized I was okay and I could afford to take a few minutes to cuddle before I had to get ready to head to work.

I carefully eased back into bed to spoon up behind Santana only this time my goal was to wake her. I easily maneuvered one arm around her stomach and slid my other arm under her pillow and neck then pulled her towards me with both hand, effectively burying my face in the warmth of her neck. I inhaled deeply at the contact and let out and exaggerated sigh onto Santana's already over heated skin.

"Santana…" I said breathing into her ear "it's time to wake up" as I pulled her tight and applied a few delicate kisses to her neck.

"Mmmm…" Santana hummed, opening her heavy eye lids and stretching a little. "Mornin'…"

"Morning" I replied burying my face in her neck to kiss her a few more times.

"What time is it?" she asked as I watched her eyes droop closed before pulling my arms tighter to her chest.

"6:30" I responded, sinking deeper into the embrace.

"Hmmm…" Santana hummed again this time for a different reason.

"Do you have to get to work?" she asked, sleep still evident in her voice.

"Soon…" I replied kissing down her neck to her shoulder and enjoying Santana's salty sweet taste that was left behind thanks to a night of sweating and no air conditioning. "I just wanted to cuddle a little before I get dressed."

Immediately Santana's eyes shot open, suddenly wide awake. "Are you only wearing a towel?" she asked reaching back to my hip to feel the plush towel rubbing against her fingers.

"Yeeees…" I said dragging out the word.

"Now that is just cruel" she said turning quickly around to face me and lifting the sheet to take a peek.

"So you're telling me the only thing keeping you from being totally naked is this little towel?" she asked staring at me intently and starting to gently finger the tucked towel just above my left breast.

"Yeeees…" I said again watching her reaction for any quick hand movements that might leave me exposed.

Santana audibly groaned and pulled my hips towards her, grinding our pelvises together and kissing me hungrily. After a few minutes I was breathless and needed to break away if I ever had any hope of getting to work on time, although my desire to be on time was starting to waver as I felt Santana suck on my bottom lip, pulling it deeper into the kiss.

"Santana…" I said pulling back. "I really should get dressed."

"Go ahead…" she said with a smirk as her eyebrows suggestively fluttered up and down. "I don't mind."

Catching onto Santana's inference, I playfully swatted Santana away. "Don't get any ideas Missy."

"Not even a peek?" Santana said visibly sulking.

"Well…" I said playfully wobbling my head before impetuously pulling my towel down flashing Santana my left breast and quickly bringing the towel back to its original place.

"Ugggh…" Santana groaned and dramatically dropped her forehead to my breasts. "You are a cruel, cruel woman, Brittany Pierce." She said sighing and making no attempt to pull back. "I better get going I guess or else I am gonna jump you and you'll never get to work, ever again because I'll never let you outta this bed." she exaggerated.

After an extended pause Santana slowly lifted her head and kissed me softly on the lips before climbing out of bed to put on her clothes that we had discarded last night while trying to cool off. Just thinking about what had happened last night caused my face to flush and my temperature to rise.

Needing a distraction I asked "When do you go back to work?"

It was a question I had been reluctant to ask since I was kinda dreading the answer, but I knew it would definitely do the trick and take my mind off my rosy cheeks.

"Today actually…" she said nonchalantly pulling on her boots.

"Oh..." I said trying to suppress my rising anxiety and surprise over Santana going back to work so soon considering what happened the last time she was with a client.

"Well, actually I just have a meeting with my boss this afternoon. He probably just wants to make sure I didn't report the attack to the police or something before he gives me my first client tomorrow." Santana said rolling her eyes. "But I do go back to work at the club tonight; 8pm to 4am" she groaned.

"Wow 4am? That stinks."

"Actually it's not too bad, I'm kinda glad to go back to work." She said pulling the zipper up on her boot. "I've been going crazy sitting at home all day. I've never been very good at being still."

"Aren't you nervous to go back to work, I mean your _other_ work?" I asked, fearful for Santana's safety. "Maybe you should wait another week before taking any dates."

Santana looked back up after she finished zipping her other boot and shot me a cute half smile that unfortunately I couldn't enjoy given our present topic of conversation. Walking back to the bed and sitting on its edge she leaned in and kissed me, lingering for only a few seconds before pulling back and smiling.

"You don't have to worry." She said cupping and stroking my cheek. "I know what I'm doing."

"It's not you I'm worried about. It's the people you're with that worry me." I said trying to hold her gaze, but fearing if I did I might end up crying and giving my quickly developing feelings for her away so I sheepishly looked away for a moment to steady myself. "It's them that I'm worried about and what they might do to hurt you."

"Britt really…" she said taking my hand and squeezing it. "You don't have to worry. I'm taking some extra security precautions. That's part of why my boss and I are meeting today and I'm not taking any new clients or anyone that normally wants weird shit."

"Weird shit…" I blurted out, scrunching my face feeling even more edgy after hearing those words and not having any idea what _weird shit_ entailed, but fearing the worst.

"You're cute when you're worried." She said chuckling and leaning into kiss me.

"Santana I'm serious right now." I said turning my head to dodge the kiss. "I'm scared for you. I don't want you to get hurt again."

"Britt I know you are and I'm sorry to put you through this." She said looking remorseful and squeezing my hand, reassuringly. "And I wish there was something I could say. Or something I could do that could make this easier on you, but I don't think there is. All I can say is that I'm doing everything I can to protect myself because trust me, I don't want to get hurt again either."

"You're right that doesn't really make me feel better." I said turning to look out the side window, feeling my tears rapidly building.

With my tears threatening to spill over I couldn't look at her because I knew if I saw that look that I was expecting to see that I would break down and I didn't want to do that. I didn't want to break down in front of her, not like this, not after I promised her I was okay with the situation.

"Britt, I'm sorry." She said tugging on my hand trying to pull my attention back to her. "There's nothing I can say that's gonna change things, except me quitting which you already know I can't do right now."

"Why not?" I said before my better judgment kicked in and stopped me.

"You know I have my reasons." she said quickly, pulling away to look at me seriously.

"Yeah I know! And let me guess… you can't talk about them…again?" I sighed feeling hurt and also a little angry.

Santana groaned and dropped her head to look at the floor and for a few moments all that could be heard were the sounds of the ticking clock and a few exaggerated deep breaths coming from Santana.

After an excruciatingly long pause Santana's shaky voice broke the silence.

"Britt, last night you said you trusted me. I need you to trust me now. I can't tell you the things you wanna know, but know, it's not because I don't want to because I do, I just can't and I need you to be patient with me. Can you do that?"

"Well…" I said taking a deep breath after realizing it wasn't a fair question. "I guess I don't really have a choice since you can't tell me and I don't wanna lose you."

Santana noticeably sighed and leaned forward, grabbing the back of my neck and planting a searing kiss on me. We kissed passionately, savoring each taste and touch and especially savoring the knowledge that neither one of us seemed willing or able to walk away. We gradually slowed our frantic pace to a more sustainable and lasting rhythm before reluctantly pulling away to take a much needed deep cleansing breath.

We sat there forehead to forehead breathing in each other before I realized that I had forgotten about the time. Quickly jerking away to look at the clock I saw that it was now 7:45.

"Darn it!" I said running to my dresser to grab some yoga pants and a tank top.

"I take it you're running late…" Santana stated watching me hurry around the room.

"Mike is gonna be pissed." I said pulling on my pants with the towel still draped around my chest.

"Well I'll let you get to it then." She said rising from the bed. "Are you free for lunch at all this week?"

"Yeah, any day except Monday or Wednesday." I said trying to maneuver my arms through the straps without dropping my towel and giving Santana a show.

"Okay, let me check my schedule and see what works. I'll call you." She said grabbing my hand and kissing my cheek. "And don't worry. I'll be fine. I promise."

**Santana's POV**

I made it to Figgins' office this time with time to spare. I knew better than to be late again considering the not so subtle threat Figgins' made the last time I was late so with a few extra minutes I decided to wait at the bar and order a diet coke.

My conversation with Brittany had been bothering me and left me feeling unsettled for the rest of the morning. It's not like I needed more motivation to get out of the escort business. I had plenty of motivation; too much in fact, but what Brittany said really got to me. And it was kind of unexpected how much. She was scared and she had every right to be. I had been so relieved after Brittany told me she could accept my job that I didn't even think about what it was that I was actually asking her to accept. I wasn't being fair to her, I realized that now and our discussion this morning had been the final kick in the pants that I needed to really move forward in my efforts to leave this business behind. 'I need to end this and soon or I could lose her.' I thought while waiting for Figgins' to call me into his office.

"Fancy meeting you here."

The unexpected voice startling me since I wasn't expecting the interruption, but when I turned around and noticed who the voice belonged to, I quickly recovered.

"Holly…? What are you doing here? Again?" I asked, surprised to see her for the second time in as many visits.

"Just helping Figgins' with a few things…"

Immediately I thought the worst as I shot her a questioning, cockeyed, disgusted look.

"Not _that_ kinda thing…" Holly replied sharply, catching my implication. "Gross!" she said with a shiver.

"I could ask you the same thing…" she said cocking her eyebrow, questioningly.

"I wanted to talk to Figgins'. I kinda felt like I needed a little extra security, well at least for the next couple weeks until I've completely healed. And I think Figgins' wanted to make sure I was presentable" I said motioning to my face, "before putting me back out there so he asked me to come down in person."

"Well you look good to me. How do you feel?" she asked out of genuine concern.

"Okay…" I said nonchalantly. "My ribs are still a little sore and my back is still stiff, but other than that, I'm good."

"And your date last night…?" she said raising her eyebrows. "I guess I just have to come right out and ask since I know you're never gonna tell me unless I beat it out of you."

"It was good." I said easily while holding up my hands in defense.

"God Santana," she said rolling her eyes, "you are so frustrating with these fragmented answers! I can't find out anything without having to pull out your teeth."

"Sorry…" I said half smiling, knowing what she was saying was true. I hated giving out personal detail about my life, even if it was to someone I consider a friend. "I guess I'm mysterious like that, but I will say it went well. Really well in fact."

"So I guess that means you got a free sample from her candy shop…" she said, smirking.

"See now that's exactly why I don't tell you things." I said groaning and rolling my eyes "You always have to take it just a step too far. We had fun, okay… we talked, we sang, we kissed and that was basically it."

"Basically…?" she said, her interest obviously peaked.

"Yes, _basically_! And that's all the information you're getting, Miss 21 questions."

"Fine!" she said stomping her feet like a two year old. "See if I help you the next time you come to me with one of your 99 problems."

I laughed at the fact that I had finally run out of 50 cent song titles to quote. "Damn, what the Hell is taking Figgins' so long? I've been here for more than 20 minutes." I said after a comfortable silence fell over the two of us and looking at my new watch that I had just bought with the money Figgins' had given me last time I was here.

"I don't know, but when I went into his office earlier it seemed like something was going down because he seemed really stressed."

"Great…" I said rolling my eyes again, "just my luck."

"Anyway…" Holly said moving the conversation along, "I gotta get going, but in all seriousness, I'm glad things went well with Brittany. I'm happy for you."

"Thanks Holly." I said lightheartedly, knowing the blondes' sentiment was genuine.

"I'll see ya." She said starting to walk away.

"Bye…" I replied watching her strut gracefully through the front door.

It couldn't have been more than a minute or two before I sensed someone else walk up behind me.

"Miss Lopez…" a shaky masculine voice said causing me to turn around. "Unfortunately, Mr. Figgins' won't be able to meet with you today. Something came up last minute and he had to leave, but he told me to tell you that everything is set for your date tomorrow and that the extra security demands you made, have been arranged."

"Oh…" I said somewhat surprised that it had been that simple. "Thanks!"

'Hmmm' I thought after realizing how strange that was and watching the man shuffling back down the hall. 'Figgins never leaves this place.' Quickly realizing that Panda Express might be my ticket out of here I tried to think quickly.

"Wait…" I said eagerly, causing the man to stop dead in his tracks.

I realized my tone had sounded a little over anxious so I hesitated for a second to center myself. After taking a breath to formulate my plan I finally took notice of the man I had just been talking to and thought, 'Piece-a-cake' as I calmly got off of my stool and stalked towards the man who appeared to have the backbone of a stock boy at Sheet-N-Things and the intelligence of a wet bag of hair.

"I think I may have lost one of my earrings in Mr. Figgins' office when I was here about a week ago. Do you think it would be okay if I went in to check?"

"No. That's not possible." He said almost like he had read it from the employee handbook.

"Please…" I said batting my eyelashes and pleading with him in the tone that almost always got me what I wanted.

He appeared to be wavering since his eyes were flitting around the room giving his lack of confidence away, so I decided to push further.

"You have no idea how important those earrings are to me. My mom left me those earrings in her will. It was her dying wish that I get them. I just have to find that earring, please…?" I asked, feeling like he was about to cave. "It'll only take me a minute, I promise. And I promise I won't touch anything. It will be our little secret." I said touching his forearm. "Yours and mine."

He looked around the bar. Probably checking to make sure no one would notice and before he could answer I squeezed his arm and said "Thanks!"

I started to walk down the hall, but I made it no more than a few steps before I stopped to make sure he wasn't about to chase me down. Deciding I was home free after seeing his expression, but wanting a little extra insurance just to be sure, I turned around to finish him off.

"What's your name?" I asked sweetly, walking back towards him.

"Howard. Howard Bamboo" he said shakily as I reached out to stroke his arm.

"Well, Howard. You're my hero. Thank you!" I said leaning forward to kiss him on the cheek before turning swiftly on my toes to walk down the corridor, thinking. 'Like stealing candy from a baby.'

Quite pleased with myself I turned the doorknob and was somewhat surprised that the door was unlocked. Not wanting to waste any time I quickly, but quietly shut the door behind me and ran to the file cabinet.

'Locked! Damn it!' I said to myself, slamming my hand against the cabinets face.

Deciding to move on I hustled over to the desk. 'Bingo' I thought pulling the bottom drawer open. I fingered through a few of the files before landing on one that was labeled Dustin Goolsby. I pulled the file out and quickly began scanning the pages for any useful information. "That's it!" I said, realizing this was what I'd been looking for for the last few months. I quickly pulled out my phone to take pictures of each page. Once I was finished copying everything I quickly put the file back where I found it. I checked to make sure nothing was out of place, pulled out both of my earrings, sticking one in my pocket and slowly exited the office.

"Howard, I found it." I said happily, dangling my earring so he could see as I approached.

"You're the best!" I said kissing him and walking with a bit more sway in my hips out the front door.

Upon getting outside I could feel my heart hammering in my chest, making it difficult to breath, but I knew I had to remain calm at least until I could get someplace secure to get in touch with my contact. 'Just hold it together for a little bit longer.' I told myself as I started the half a block walk towards my car.

I couldn't help but notice the stares I was getting as I continued to walk; stares that I would normally think nothing of suddenly became suspicious. 'Is that guy following me?' I wondered as I turned the corner into the parking lot after noticing a guy that I thought I had seen an hour ago when I had first shown up to meet with Figgins'. 'No, you're being paranoid.' I told myself, clicking the key fob to unlike my car door.

'Just keep it together!' I encouraged again while climbing behind the wheel.

Starting my car like normal I watched the man I had suspected of being a spy enter the Dairy Queen next to the parking lot.

'Phew' I sighed, before putting my car in gear and starting to drive home.

Once I got through my front door I threw my keys down and pulled out the phone I used to make contact.

**INCRIPTED **outgoing:** Got what you wanted! What do u want me to do?**

I waited impatiently for a response that probably only took a few seconds, but it had felt like an eternity.

**INCRIPTED** incoming: **Hold tight. I'll schedule a drop. Wait for instructions!**

Breathing in and sighing a shaky breath out, I realized all I could do now was wait which was something I had unfortunately never been very good at.

TBC…

**AN: Holy rusted metal, Batman. :) Kinda a lot happened this chapter. I know I was a little vague at parts, but that was done deliberately. So lucky for you there's more next time. Any guesses on what that **_**more **_**is…? I'll send you a cookie if you guess right… :) **

**If the ringtone at the beginning was hard to follow look up **_**Verizon good morning ringtone**_** to hear it on youtube. It will drive anyone who is not a morning person batty, (me being one of them since I had to listen to it 20 TIMES to figure out how many BA-BA's and BOWS there were), but it seemed perfect for Brittany so it should give you a chuckle if you give it a listen.**

**Oh and did anyone notice the guy going into Dairy Queen. That was me. :) My wife wanted a blizzard really bad and our Dairy Queen was closed so I had to go all the way to New York to answer her craving. I know… I'm that good of a husband. :) And in case anyone was wondering, I'm not a spy, just a guy that couldn't help checking out Santana's (Naya's) assets. :) Can you blame me? ;)**

**Anyways… don't forget to vote in my poll and send me a review or PM to let me know what's going on with you or tell me what you thought of this chapter. Again I hope I haven't lost anyone. I missed you all while I was on hiatus. **

**Glad to be back! Take care!**

**Drew**

**AN2: Sorry one last thing… I gotta say thanks to Sam for beta-ing this chapter twice. Yes I said twice! So if you enjoyed this chapter probably part of that is thanks to her and all the hard work she did to make this presentable. THANKS!**


	17. The Waiting Game

**AN: Well hello again… :) I'm back with a new update : ) and a new apology. :( Apparently my fingers must have been crossed after last chapter when I said I would do better about getting updates out in a timely fashion. SORRY! It really was unavoidable. Life just handed me too many lemons at one time and I couldn't keep up with them enough to make lemonade. But if anyone wants to send me some _sugar _that might help me turn my lemons into lemonade. :) **

**Anyway, onward and downward to what really matters and that's this update. I kinda feel like I should give you a quick review of what's been going on in this story, but if I did that I think this update would be delayed even more. So I'm not gonna do that, but what I did do was put some helpful reminders in _Previously on Playing With Fire_'s already established content that weren't there last chapter that might help you remember what's been going on. Hope it helps! **

**Disclaimer: Don't own, Glee, Chuck, Full House, Castle, Dairy Queen or anything else I may have inadvertently made references to in this chapter. Nothing belongs to me. Sorry to say.**

**Happy Reading!**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Santana's POV**

Upon leaving Figgins' office and getting outside I could feel my heart hammering in my chest making it difficult to breathe, but I knew I had to remain calm at least until I could get someplace secure to get in touch with my contact. 'Just hold it together for a little bit longer.' I told myself as I started the half a block walk towards my car.

I couldn't help but notice the stares I was getting as I continued to walk; stares that I would normally think nothing of suddenly became suspicious. 'Is that guy following me?' I wondered as I turned the corner into the parking lot after noticing a guy that I thought I'd seen an hour ago when I'd first shown up to meet with Figgins'. 'No, you're being paranoid.' I told myself while clicking the key fob to unlike my car door.

'Just keep it together!' I encouraged myself again while climbing nervously behind the wheel and keeping a close eye on the man I suspected of being a spy.

Starting my car and trying to act like normal, I watched the man enter the Dairy Queen next to the parking lot which finally allowed me to breathe in a sigh of relief.

I took one more deep breath in an attempt to steady my nerves before putting my car in gear and starting my drive home.

Once I walked through my front door I quickly turned around and locked it, throwing my keys down and retrieving the phone I had been using to make contact with my handler.

**INCRIPTED **outgoing:** Got what you wanted! What do u want me to do?**

I waited impatiently for a text in response that probably only took a few seconds, but it had felt like an eternity.

**INCRIPTED** incoming: **Hold tight. I'll schedule a drop. Wait for instructions!**

Breathing in and sighing a shaky breath out, I realized all I could do now was wait which was something I had unfortunately never been very good at.

**And Now Chapter 17- The Waiting Game**

**Santana's POV**

'What the Hell is taking so long?' I thought, looking at my watch for what felt like the hundredth time in the last few minutes. 'Hold tight. Wait for instructions' I told my self, repeating, yet again, the fragmented words left for me in the text message from Agent Sylvester. Thinking about those words that should have been simple under different circumstances caused me to drop my head dramatically into my hands, feeling more unnerved than I had ever felt before in my life. 'How could she say hold tight?' I thought, noticing the muscles in my arms nervously twitching while supporting my head. 'Did Agent Sylvester have any idea what she was asking me to do right now?'

I picked up my head, noticing my trembling hands before looking at the two phones sitting on the coffee table. Both phones felt like ticking time bombs at the moment. The one phone was my only form of guidance in this crazy situation and it felt like a watched pot that would never boil and the other phone happened to contain information that could potentially bring down one of the most dangerous organized crime syndicates in the city; neither phone I felt particularly good about being in possession of at the moment.

'How did I get here?' I thought, dropping my head back into my shaky hands and remembering that fateful day last October when everything suddenly changed and the ramifications that were still lingering were almost too difficult to bare.

_**Flashback- October 2010**_

'_God, it's been a long couple days' I thought as I sighed and dragged my exhausted body through my front door. Actually, if I was really being honest with myself it was more like a long couple months. I had just returned home after seeing one of my weekly clients for a nooner that I would've been more than happy to skip and unfortunately upon walking into my bedroom I saw the last thing I wanted to see… _

"_Fuck" I spat out angrily after seeing the flashing red light of my answering machine indicating I already had a new date. After listening to the details for a date at nine o'clock I sat on the edge of my bed, already sensing the tension headache forming and beginning to rub my temples._

_Two clients in one day sucked, but thankfully it was something that almost never happened. Although, now that I thought about it, it was beginning to happen more regularly thanks in part to the fact that I had built up a fairly regular client base. It had been a little over a year since I'd taken my first client and even though I still hated the fact that I had to have sex with horny strangers for money, the regret and self loathing I experienced early on had become substantially easier to deal with over time. Not that I felt good about what I was doing because I certainly didn't, although some days were worse than others, but over time I thankfully found ways to cope with the negative aspects of my job. I'd built up a decent list of regular client who were fairly easy to deal with most of the time. Certainly easier than dealing with the random one timers that always wanted the kinkiest, most degrading, freakiest shit, knowing they were never going to see me again so they didn't have to feel too embarrassed about their crazy sex fantasies and unfortunately judging by the unplanned nature of tonight's date, that's probably what I was in for. _

_I quickly jotted down the guys name, probably fake I thought to myself, and the location and time of where to meet him before running myself a bath and deciding to take it easy for the rest of the day. 'I better enjoy the peace and quiet while I can,' I thought easing into the tub and letting its warmth overtake my exhausted body. _

_Of course, like always, when I wanted time to move slowly to enjoy myself, it happened to move entirely too fast and unfortunately before I knew it, it was seven-thirty and I had to be at The Surrey Hotel in a little over an hour. Groaning at not being able to finish the movie I was watching I begrudgingly got up off the couch to trudge back to my bedroom to get ready._

_Since I didn't have any details beyond his name and a time and place, but knowing I would have to walk through the swanky hotel lobby I decided to play it classy and elegant by wearing a form fitting black cocktail dress, black pumps and a black trench coat to ward of the rain that had been threatening all day and more importantly to cover up a dress that was probably a little too sexy to actually be considered a simple black cocktail dress. Hopefully the trench coat would allow me to go unnoticed while walking through the hotel lobby which I knew was wishful thinking based on previous experiences. At least the trench coat would provide me with enough camouflage to ensure the only looks I'd receive would be that of people who were just looking to appreciate another pretty face. They would probably just shoot me a glance thinking 'God she's hot' and turn away thinking I was there on a holiday or for business and not give me a second thought after walking away. Little did they know they were right about being there on business, but wrong about what that business entailed._

_So after driving the short distance to the hotel and giving my keys to the valet I was now on my way up to room 1204._

_Before knocking on the door I went through my pre-date checklist of a reapplying my lipstick, chewing and finishing the last of a mint, smoothing out my hair and taking a few deep calming breaths._

_Finally feeling like I was in the zone I knocked and waited to see what type of train wreck I would have to spend the next couple of hours with._

_After a short moment the door swung open and a surprisingly attractive man appeared in the doorway. He was dressed well in a perfectly tailored suit that hung easily off his assumingly well groomed and fit body. I silently said a little 'thank you' to what ever higher power there was that at least it wasn't some, hairy, smelly, fat man with zero social skills._

"_Hi…" I said raising an eyebrow seductively. "May I come in?"_

"_Please…" he said eyeing me appreciatively and politely gesturing for me to enter. _

"_Would you like a drink?" he asked shutting the door and strolling confidently passed me in the direction of a small bar tucked in the back corner of the room._

"_Yes, thank you." I said watching him fill a small high ball glass with amber color liquor and moving easily towards him. _

"_What should we drink to?" he asked as I reached out accepting his offering._

_I hesitated for a second, allowing my eyes to examine and appreciate his appearance and body language. He obviously wasn't a woman. Which was typical; most clients were men. But he was attractive. And he did seem fairly __chivalrous; at least from what I could tell from our limited interaction__. So maybe I wouldn't have to dread this experience after all. He seemed well educated; 'well…' I thought pausing for a moment at least educated enough to know how to fake it. And if I were a betting woman, I would say his actions probably weren't fake considering I had learned over the last few months how to quickly spot someone who was putting up a front. _

"_How bout we drink to a night full of possibilities?" I finally answered after realizing I had been staring for a little too long and that he was still standing there waiting for my reply. _

_He wordlessly nodded his acceptance of my toast, dipping his glass ever so slightly to clink it with my own. We both took a sip out of the glasses, perfectly in unison like two synchronized swimmers and savored the taste and sensations as the liquor slid down our throats._

'_He certainly wasn't hard to look at,' I thought as I continued our heady staring contest while noticing him reaching for my glass and setting it on the edge of the bar._

"_So Mr. Katsopolis, I hope you don't mind me asking for the money up front? It's customary I assure you..."_

"_Not at all…" he said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a large wad of money and placing it on the edge of the bar next to my glass. "I too like to dot all my I's and cross all my T's before getting down to business. And please call me Jesse."_

"_Okay… Jesse." I nodded, testing out his name and reaching out to take the money and putting it in my jacket pocket. _

"_So Jesse what would you like to happen here tonight?" I asked, moving to go sit at the end of the bed and crossing my legs with a little more exaggeration than was normally socially acceptable._

"_Well first…" he said beginning to stalk towards me. "I'd like for you to take off your jacket. I want you to be comfortable."_

"_Okay…" I said, sliding my jacket slowly down my arms and tossing it onto the large high backed chair situated in the corner a few feet away from the bed._

_I noticed his eyes grow in size in response to my gesture so I asked "Like what you see?"_

"_Very much…" he responded, licking his lips and devouring me with his eyes. _

"_My jacket's off… what now?" I asked staring up through my eye lashes with matching intensity._

"_Now…" he said reaching slowly into his pocket with his eyes never leaving mine. "I place you under arrest."_

_His movements were quick. So much so that I almost didn't even see him move to grab my right arm, forcing me immediately to stand and spinning me around to place the handcuffs around my wrist. _

"_You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can a will be used against you in the court of law."_

_The rest of the night was pretty much a noisy blur of stern police officers, flashing red and blue lights, handcuffs, finger prints, mug shots and a lot of nervous waiting around. I didn't know what to expect. I'd never been arrested before. Sure I had gotten in my fair share of trouble when I was younger, but nothing like this. I was nervous! And I really wished someone would tell me something because not knowing what the hell was going on was definitely the worst part._

_Finally, after anxiously sitting around for a few hours I was brought to an interrogation room where 'yay' I thought sarcastically, I got to wait around some more. After waiting in the interrogation room for God only knows how long finally, to my surprise the man from back at the hotel walked through the door, but this time he was dressed more casually._

"_Miss Lopez…" he said dropping two file folders down on the table and sitting in the chair across the table. "My name is Detective Carl Howell and I'm here to bring you up to speed on your situation."_

_After his statement he paused for a moment and I was unsure if he was waiting for me to say something. _

_When I didn't make a move to speak he began again, "Miss Lopez I'm sure you are aware that you're in some pretty serious trouble…" he said looking down to open one of the files he had brought with him._

_I said nothing again… My mind was gone. All I could do now was sit there in stunned silence. _

"_You've been charged with prostitution." He said pausing again to glance up at me over the top of the file, "and the penalty if convicted is ninety days in jail and two years probation."_

'_This is not happening…' I thought, as my shoulders slumped in a mixture of disappointment, humiliation and fear. When I first started this job I knew what I was doing was illegal, but I honestly thought I would never get caught. People like me didn't get arrested for prostitution; it was supposed to be the crack whore prostitutes that got arrested._

"_Do you understand the charges against you Miss Lopez?" he asked forcing me back to reality._

_I nodded wordlessly up and down after finally realizing his statement required some type of answer before once again reverting back to mutely staring at a water stain on the back wall. _

"_Miss Lopez…" he said again looking back to the file, "Santana…" he said after returning his gaze to me. " May I call you Santana?"_

_Once again I said nothing. It's like my voice, with my dignity had left me as soon as he slapped the handcuffs on my wrist._

"_Well I'm going to take your lack of a response as a yes." He said with a hint of a smile and looking back down at the files to open the second one._

"_Santana…" he said pausing to really look at me for the first time since the hotel room. "Like I told you a moment ago these are serious charges. And I'm sure you are aware the evidence against you is pretty air tight since I'm the one who did the soliciting. But with all that said, it has been brought to my attention that the State would like to make a deal with you."_

_I wasn't exactly sure what that meant, but that was the first piece of remotely encouraging information I'd received since I'd been escorted into the police stations three hours ago. I was a little afraid to get my hopes up, but maybe if they wanted to make a deal with me then things weren't as bad as they seemed._

_As a small glimmer of hope began to slowly rise the door swung open, almost violently and in walked a tall blonde, middle aged woman dressed in a pants suit that I quickly noticed was the same image on her picture ID, her ID read, Federal Bureau of Investigation, Special Agent Sue Sylvester. _

"_Miss Lopez…" the woman stated sharply. "I hope Detective Howell has informed you of how deep you are in this pile of shit."_

_I shockingly glanced back at Detective Howell. He had his face buried in one of the files, but I could still see the irritation written plainly on his face. He was not happy that this woman had come storming in and essentially hijacked our conversation. That small noticeable grimace that held firm on his face restored my slight hope that maybe somehow he would help me and I could get out of this._

"_Ms. Sylvester…"he began evenly._

"_Agent Sylvester" she said cutting him off sharply._

"_I beg your pardon… Agent Sylvester," he said noticeably gritting his teeth. "I was just in the process of informing Miss Lopez that we're both in a position where we can assist each other." _

_The woman tilted her head and scowled at the Detective. "I'm sorry, but that deal is off the table. Miss Lopez is not the type of person we're looking for."_

"_Excuse me?" he questioned, rising to his feet to address Agent Sylvester directly. "I was told that Miss Lopez was being offered immunity in exchange for her cooperation."_

"_Nope!" Agent Sylvester stated. "She's not savvy enough."_

"_Pfff…"I huffed out reactively. "Not savvy…" I said rolling my eyes "please…"_

_I realized judging from both of their flabbergasted looks that they weren't expecting me to speak, but many people over the years had called me many different things, but never could someone say that I wasn't savvy. That was simply not true._

"_See I told you she's our girl." He said looking at me and trying to contain his grin._

"_Fine…" she stated sounding rather annoyed. "We'll give her a shot. If it doesn't work out we can always still throw her in jail."_

_The next couple hours were spent with Agent Sylvester and Detective Howell informing me about Figgins' businesses. Apparently Figgins' was a Jack of All Trades because the man apparently had his hand in almost all of New York's illegal businesses; escorting aside. The police and FBI had documentation that he had dealings in drugs, weapons, money laundering, and even allegations of murder. I had to admit; the more they explained things the less confident I felt about my savviness and the more fearful I became, but in the end I didn't want to go to jail so whatever I had to do to keep that from happening I would do it and they promised me whatever backup I needed to make sure I stayed safe I would get it._

_So here I was, Santana Lopez, wanna be performer turned escort who was now walking out of the Third Precinct with an encrypted phone and a plan to bring down one of the most dangerous men in the city. 'How the hell did that happen?' I thought hailing a cab to go back to pick up my car._

**Present day**

Thinking about that rainy October day always made me anxious. In fact, couple that with being in possession of information that could potentially bring this whole nightmare existence I'd been living to an end; I guess I could now honestly say I was scared shitless.

I wanted this whole ordeal to be over, for so many reasons, but I certainly didn't want to end up dead to get there. And if anyone connected to Figgins' ever found out that I essentially broke into his office and stole confidential record, that's exactly how I would end up.

'Holy shit!' I thought covering my face with my hands as I finally felt the full weight of the precarious situation I was in. 'Maybe I can go back.' I thought changing my mind and wanting to back out of this whole plan. 'No one knows anything yet.' I thought, starting to sweat. 'I don't have to give the information I found to the Feds, they don't know what I found. And besides, Panda Express would never be able to put two and two together. He just thinks I was looking in Figgins' office to find my earring. No one has to know what I actually found in there. And if no one knows, then I'm still safe. This isn't worth dying for.' I thought.

BEEP-BEEP, BEEP-BEEP

'Fuck' I thought as I jumped when the text alert startled me.

Looking at the two phones I realized it wasn't the text alert I'd been expecting. It was a text on my personal phone. I picked up the phone nervously, not knowing what to expect, but when I saw the name of the contact I breathed in a hopeful sigh of relief.

**BRITTANY **incoming**: Hey- Just wanted to say have fun at the club tonight. O and that I really had a good time last night. Let's do it again tomorrow. If you're free? This time it's my treat… :)**** Call me.**

Seeing the text from Brittany forced me to take stock of my reasons for doing this. For the first time in my life I had someone who cared about me. I mean really cared about me. Brittany was someone who was willing to accept me for who I really was; faults and all. Knowing what Brittany was willing to accept in order to be with me made me realize why I went into Figgins' office in the first place. I wasn't going in there for me so I could get information to avoid going to jail or to help the Feds catch a dangerous criminal; it was for her. I was willing to risk everything for her.

That powerful realization startled me. I cared about Brittany, that much I already knew. That wasn't new information, but the fact that I cared enough about her and her happiness to risk… 'Whoa' I thought, stopping myself before finishing that statement because finishing that statement meant… 'Well, I had a pretty good idea what it meant' and that realization, shockingly was almost enough to bring me to my knees.

'Could I really admit it to myself? Could I actually say those words even if it was just admitting it in my own head? I knew what saying those words had to mean. Saying those words meant that I was in love with Brittany. Could I do that? Did I love her?'

TBC

**AN: Phew… that chapter was kinda exhausting, but I hope it explained some of the vagueness of the last few chapters and why Santana felt the need to hid it for Brittany's protection. Are you happy you now know what Santana's been hiding? How do you think it's going to affect their relationship? Find out soon. (I hope)**

**Okay, now that I've done my thing, now it's your turn… You know what to do… Tap that review button. Let me know if I cleared up the murky water and if you liked the addition of Agent Sue and Detective Dr. Carl aka Uncle Jesse. LOL**

**Thanks for reading! Take care!**

**Drew**

**AN2: O also, thank you again lacksubstance for beta-ing this chapter. You rock! LOL I feel like I just called you my gleek of the week by adding _you rock_! Do people even say you rock anymore? LOL I know I don't. I don't know where that came from. **


	18. Normal What the Hell is Normal

**AN: Well wonder of wonders… :) I come baring gifts of thanks and of course a new update that 'yay' didn't take me a month to get out. Thank you everyone for all the support and guidance you've given me throughout this story and as always thanks for all the reviews, alerts and favorites. I got a lot of favorites after last chapter so thank you to everyone who favored. Every piece of positive reinforcement I get really means a lot. :D I was really happy with last chapters' response. It felt good to know that I was able to surprise most of you with what Santana was hiding. I have a feeling Britt will be equally surprised when she finds out. ;) ;) **

**So without further adieu here is chapter 18. **

**Disclaimer: Don't own Glee but I do own a few new iTunes tracks from the MJ episode. Those cello guys were amazing, huh? And who among you wants to kick Sebastian in his Warblers? I don't think I've ever wanted to kick a guy in the nuts mainly because guys don't kick each other in the nuts, we punch each other in the face, but I certainly wouldn't be opposed if anyone else decided to neuter him. :/ What a prick! (No offense to the actor who plays him. You play a very good jack ass Grant Gustin. :))**

**Happy reading!**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Santana's POV**

Thinking about that rainy October day always made me anxious. In fact, couple that with being in possession of information that could potentially bring this whole nightmare existence I'd been living to an end; I guess I could now honestly say I was scared shitless.

I wanted this whole ordeal to be over, for so many reasons, but I certainly didn't want to end up dead to get there. And if anyone connected to Figgins' ever found out that I essentially broke into his office and stole confidential record, that's exactly how I would end up.

'Holy shit!' I thought covering my face with my hands as I finally felt the full weight of the precarious situation I was in. 'Maybe I can go back.' I thought changing my mind and wanting to back out of this whole plan. 'No one knows anything yet,' I thought, starting to sweat. 'I don't have to give the information I found to the Feds, they don't know what I found. And besides, Panda Express would never be able to put two and two together. He just thinks I was looking in Figgins' office to find my earring. No one has to know what I actually found in there. And if no one knows, then I'm still safe. This isn't worth dying for.'

BEEP-BEEP, BEEP-BEEP

'Fuck' I thought as I jumped when the text alert startled me.

Looking at the two phones I realized it wasn't the text alert I'd been expecting. It was a text on my personal phone. I picked up the phone nervously, not knowing what to expect, but when I saw the name of the contact I breathed in a hopeful sigh of relief.

**BRITTANY **incoming**: Hey- Just wanted to say have fun at the club tonight. O and that I really had a good time last night. Let's do it again tomorrow. If you're free? This time it's my treat… :)**** Call me.**

Seeing the text from Brittany forced me to take stock of my reasons for doing this. For the first time in my life I had someone who cared about me. I mean really cared about me. Brittany was someone who was willing to accept me for who I really was; faults and all. Knowing what Brittany was willing to accept in order to be with me made me realize why I went into Figgins' office in the first place. I wasn't going in there for me so I could get information to avoid going to jail or to help the Feds catch a dangerous criminal; it was for her. I was willing to risk everything for Brittany so that I could give her the relationship she deserved; a relationship that didn't include dishonesty, danger or infidelity.

That powerful realization startled me. Actually it more than startled me. It made it nearly impossible for me to breathe. I knew I cared about Brittany, that wasn't new information, but the fact that I cared enough about her and her happiness to risk… 'Whoa' I thought, stopping myself before finishing that statement because finishing that statement meant… 'Well… I had a pretty good idea what it meant.' and that realization, shockingly was almost enough to bring me to my knees.

'Could I really admit it to myself? Could I actually say those words even if it was just admitting it in my own head?' I knew what finishing that statement had to mean. Finishing that statement meant that I was in love with Brittany. 'Could I do that? Did I love her?'

**And Now Chapter 18- Normal- What the Hell is Normal?**

**Santana's POV**

BUUUUZZ-BUUUUZZ!

'Shit' I thought doing an unexpected double take at my now vibrating Blackberry. I looked at the phone and I felt my heart drop into my stomach. Thinking about Brittany and my feelings for her had distracted me to the point that I'd practically forgot that I was still waiting on a response for Agent Sylvester.

I was afraid to pick up the phone. Picking up that phone was the embodiment that proved I'd made a decision about everything. It meant that I decided to hand over all the information I had found. It meant that I was willing to risk whatever consequence that information brought with it and above all it meant admitting to myself that I was doing it all because of my feelings for Brittany. That I was in love with her, I thought clasping my shaking hands to steady myself. 'My God it's true…' I thought becoming overwhelmed and reaching up to run my trembling hands up my face and through my hair. 'I'm in love with Brittany.'

I sat there for awhile, staring off into space and trying to come to terms with what I'd realized and what that realization meant in terms of how I was going to proceed. I wanted my life back, but more than that, I wanted something better than my life. I wanted a life that included an honest relationship with an amazing woman and a life that had nothing to do with having sex with strangers for money.

I now knew what I had to do. I had to suck it up, get my shit together and give the information I had found to Agent Sylvester and hope that she'd hold up her end of the deal. This was the only way for me to get what I wanted, no check that, what I deserved and more importantly what Brittany deserved.

Summoning all my courage, I slowly and cautiously began to reach for the Blackberry. It was almost like I was worried it would burn my hand on contact. I retracted my hand briefly hesitating before once again steadying myself to continue. I knew what I had to do, but that didn't mean taking that step didn't scare the shit out of me. Finally, my hand came in contact with the phones surprisingly cold plastic, wrapping around it and picking it up.

'There… was that so hard.' I told myself looking at the sleeping dark home screen while holding the phone in front of my face. Taking one last deep breath and telling myself that I could do this I finally clicked the center square illuminating the home screen and revealing the new text message from Agent Sylvester.

**INCRIPTED** incoming: **The drop is set. Follow normal protocol. Once we've looked over the evidence we'll be in touch.**

I tilted my head questioningly. I kinda expected something more than _normal protocol,_ but then I remembered… she still didn't know how important this evidence was. She probably thought I was just turning over another bullshit spreadsheet with figures that didn't mean anything or she thought it was just another statement made by another drugged out of her mind prostitute that wouldn't be worth the paper it was printed on. I had to make her understand this wasn't like all the other times. This was the information we'd been trying to find for months.

**INCRIPTED **outgoing: **No you don't understand. I think I need to come in. This is big!**

I waited for a few seconds before finally feeling the phone vibrate within my hand. I quickly hit the confirm key, hoping that Agent Sylvester would take my word and give me the support and news I so desperately needed.

**INCRIPTED** incoming: **Not possible. It would blow your cover. Only come in if you're in immediate danger. If not, follow the normal protocol. Are you in danger?**

'Shit!' I thought, realizing that no matter what I said, chances are for the foreseeable future I was probably in this alone.

**INCRIPTED **outgoing: **I don't think so, but I'm not sure. Some of Figgins' men saw me leave his office. They might be suspicious.**

Again I waited, dejectedly assuming I'd receive yet another brush off. Unfortunately, trying to get through to Agent Sylvester and penetrate her thick head was like trying to crack the security at the Pentagon.

**INCRIPTED** incoming: **If they truly suspected you then you'd already be dead. Follow the normal protocol. You're fine, just relax and act normal. **

'Great,' I thought sarcastically. 'That's really comforting. Thanks for nothing Agent Sylvester.'

I guess all that's left now is for me to wait until I can make the drop and try to act normal. Whatever normal is when you're in possession of evidence that could get you killed.

**Puck's POV**

'It's been 6 days, 22 hours and 37 minutes since Brittany ran out of my apartment in tears,' and I was miserable I thought as I walked down the hall to catch the elevator to meet Finn, Sam and Artie at a bar around the corner. I tried everything I could think of to get Brittany to talk to me. I called her at least a dozen times hearing the phone ring and then cut straight to voicemail, leading me to believe that she'd seen my name and chose to hit ignore. My efforts didn't stop with just calls, I also sent her text after text, I instant messaged her on her phone and online. I even joined Facebook, something I swore I'd never do, all in the off chance that she'd see one of my messages, realize how sorry I was and know how much I valued our friendship. But unfortunately nothing worked, she still wouldn't talk to me and I was starting to lose hope that she'd ever speak to me again.

I stepped into the dingy elevator, pressing the button for the lobby and began my descent towards the bottom floor. My life was a darker place without Brittany and I could admit now which was hard for me that I felt lost without her. She was my best friend, but more than that, knowing her made me a better person. Her moral compass was annoying for me on more than a few occasion, particularly when it involved me getting laid or more specifically when it involved me not getting laid, but whenever I truly had a problem and the devil on my shoulder was threatening to rear its ugly face, she was there for me and never once had she thrown my bad decisions back in my face.

I could already feel myself slipping back into old patterns and it had only been a week. The fact of the matter was I was an idiot without her. Over the last week I managed to pick a fight at a bar and almost got arrested. I showed up at work still drunk from the night before and almost got fired and I also made out with some chick that now that I thought about it… had a freakishly large Adams apple. 'Hmm…' I thought shaking my head and sighting a combination of beer goggles and stupidity as the only possible explanation.

I needed her; obviously. But more than anything I just plain missed her. I just wanted a chance to make things right. I knew I'd been wrong in how I handled things and I felt horrible that I'd broken her trust.

Reaching the lobby I felt the floor finally settle and saw the doors slide open. Still deep in thought I took a step out of the elevator and practically slammed right into the opportunity I'd been hoping for since last Sunday.

"Hey…" I said balking mid-step and freezing upon realizing that Brittany was standing right in front of me, dead still and clearly in shock.

"I think I'll take the stairs." She finally said turning away and heading for the stairwell, leaving me frozen in my spot and feeling the brutal chill left behind by her cold shoulder.

DING I heard as the doors began to close getting ready to box me in.

"Wait…" I finally said sliding through the doors, thankful that I'd come out of my daze before the doors trapped me inside.

"Wait…" I said almost desperately. "Please wait!" as I ran to beat Brittany to the doors for the stairwell.

Standing once again in front of Brittany and blocking her way I froze again.

"Puck, get out of my way." She said sternly, stepping to the side to try to get around me.

I quickly mirrored her movement and blocked her path.

"No, please… just wait" I begged again, holding my hands up in surrender. "Just give me a chance. I'm sorry. I know I screwed up, but please just hear me out."

In response Brittany defiantly crossed her arms in front of her chest effectively throwing up a wall that I knew would be difficult to bring down.

"Fine! What is it?" she challenged.

"Well…" I said hesitating and suddenly forgetting all the speeches I'd practiced over the last few days outlining how bad I felt.

"That's it?" she questioned after waiting for only a second. "If that's all you have to say, I'm leaving!" she said turning and walking towards the front door.

'You dumbass… you're fucking it up! Say something!' I told myself as I watched her grab the door handle to leave the building.

"I miss you!" I announced causing her to stop before she could make her way through the front door. "I know I was wrong and I know I broke your trust, but please you have to know that I would never do anything that would knowingly put you in danger. You're my best friend and I love you. I'll do anything to make it up to you. Please just forgive me…"

She stood motionless at the door with her back to me. She hadn't said anything, but she hadn't left either so I was choosing to take that as a good sign.

"Puck…" she said turning back towards me. And just when I thought 'maybe' these last few days of misery might soon be over, her phone rang.

'Fuck!' I thought watching her retrieve her phone from her bag. 'I was that close.' I said convincing myself that she was starting to weaken.

"Hey Santana…" Brittany greeted with a small smile. I could tell that she was happy to hear from the Latina which made me glad that at least my stupidity hadn't screwed that part up. "No…" she continued "I'm actually heading out to meet Quinn and Mercedes for dinner. Is everything okay?"

Again silence from Brittany's end. I wanted to overhear their conversation since over the last week I had wondered on more than a few occasions if my lack of judgment had hurt their chances of making a relationship work, but judging from the one sided conversation I was watching, it hadn't. Obviously they were still talking and things appeared to be going fairly well.

"Are you sure you're okay?" she asked. "You sound…" and there was another pause as I watched Brittany crinkle her forehead in thought. "Weird" she finally finished as I waited to hear the rest.

"Well how bout I come and see you at the club tonight? I could bring Quinn and Mercedes… I'd love for you to get to know them and we could talk if you want..." she told her.

Hearing the two women talking, helped assuage some of the feelings I'd felt guilty over. Clearly I hadn't ruined things between them. So maybe if Santana and Brittany could work it out then there was still hope for Brittany and I.

"Okay I'll see you tonight then…" Brittany said as I decided that it'd be a good idea to go to The Inferno tonight as well. "Bye" she said pushing end and putting the phone back in her bag.

We both stood there for a moment staring at each other and after a few long seconds I silently started to wonder if my chance at forgiveness had passed me by.

"Brittany-Puck…" we both said in unison. The awkwardness of the moment not going unnoticed to either one of us which made us both hesitantly half smile.

"You first…" I said, nodding towards her and feeling my chest tighten with hopeful anticipation.

"Okay…" she responded lowering her gaze if only for a second, appearing to consider her words carefully. "I want you to know that I miss you too. But I'm not ready to forgive you. Not yet…"

"Not yet..?" I asked picking up on the fact that she'd inadvertently given me some hope.

"Like you said… You're my best friend," she said shrugging her shoulders and making it sound like _you're my best friend_ was some horrible curse, but before I could stew on that for too long she followed it up with, "and I can't stay mad at you forever."

And with that as her parting words, she was gone. Upon finding myself standing alone in the lobby I took a second to reflect on our conversation and more specifically on our entire relationship. She was right… we were best friends and somehow I knew we'd find a way to work it out. We've been through too much together to let one lapse in judgment ruin a lifetime of friendship. 'Tonight…' I thought remembering that Brittany was going to meet Santana at The Inferno and starting to head for the door to meet the guys. 'Tonight will be the night that I get back in Brittany's good graces. I can feel it,' I thought optimistically trying to think of the best way possible to get Brittany to realize it was time to forgive me.

**Santana's POV**

The Inferno 9:42 PM

'For fucks sake…' I thought looking at my watch and beginning to nervously massaging my tense neck muscles. 'It's been hours since I made the drop, why hasn't someone gotten back to me? They had to have seen the evidence by now. What the hell is taking them so long?'

Just then a man approached asking for three beers. I quickly grabbed the disgusting light beers that no self respecting guy should ever order, popped the tops and handed them over. "$18.75…" I said routinely, forcing a smile.

I reached out to take his money as he politely announced "Keep the change" while turning to walk back to his group of friends.

I nodded thanks before throwing the generous tip in the jar and putting the rest in the cash register.

It was nice to have a routine again, particularly when I was this antsy. It kept my mind from wandering to unpleasant topics. Topics such as acknowledging how many people were in the club tonight. Which I guess was good and bad. The good part was that I got a much needed distraction. Watching most of the losers in here dancing, flirting and trying to get laid was a free form of entertainment most nights and come to think of it, it was kinda comforting to be surrounded by this many people, but the flip side of that was that in a crowd this large, people could hide in plan sight. New York was a big city and Figgins' was a big employer with a lot of people on his pay role, there was no telling how many people in here had ties to Figgins'. 'Damn it…' I thought cursing myself for going there. 'Why'd I have to do that? God I hope Brittany gets here soon. Now I need a new distraction.'

For the next forty five minutes I tried to keep busy. I talked with some customers. A few of them weren't entirely boring, I thought while pouring a row of shots for some drunken frat guys from Columbia University.

"$47.25…" I said pushing the shots towards the group of guys.

Each of them picked up one of the tiny glasses leaving one left over.

"Take a shot with us…" the guy that placed the order said handing me the last shot glass. 'Why the hell not…' I thought. 'At least it might help settle my nerves.'

"Salud…" I said raising my glass towards them and then downing the shot in one smooth motion.

"Thanks guys will that be all?" I asked picking up the used shot glasses and throwing them in utility tub.

"Actually, can I take your picture…?" he responded with a cheeky grin and holding his phone in front of my face.

"Hell to the NO…" I said raising my hand to block his snap shot.

"Oh come on…" he begged "I need it so I can show Santa what I want for Christmas…" he said turning towards his boys and laughing.

"I don't think so…" I heard off in the distance. "The only one that gets to unwrap that present is me. Hi baby…" Brittany said leaning across the bar and kissing me softly.

"Damn…" I heard in addition to a few other mumblings as I parted my lips to slip Brittany a little tongue.

We pulled away quickly after smiling at each other briefly.

"Sorry fellas…" Brittany said keeping her eyes focused on me and ignoring the group of gawking guys. "She's all mine."

"Can we at least watch?" a guy in the back crudely announced, causing us both to break our eye contact and leer at him.

"No…' I said after a beat. No one talks to me like that and gets away with it. Yes, I might be a little off my game tonight because of _everything_, but still… that is just not acceptable I thought challengingly putting my hand on my hip. 'But you know what…? I'd like to watch you guys do something…"

"What's that?" one of them responded with a confused, but hopeful expression plastered on his face.

"Leave." I said sternly.

"Daaaammn…" I heard a guy within the group announce. "Denied!" he said turning and nodding for his boys to follow as they slowly and dejectedly began to disburse. 'I think if looks could kill I probably would have killed them all,' I thought happily, watching them walk away.

"Hey…" I said turning back towards Brittany and giving her my best come hither look. "Thanks for the save. You know…" I hesitated slyly. "You're really sexy when you get all protective."

"Thanks…" she said happily accepting the complement, with a little skip of excitement.

I was so happy to see Brittany that I hadn't even noticed the two girls standing next to the beaming blonde until she glanced towards them.

"Santana I'd like you to meet my friends Quinn and Mercedes." Brittany said looking at them, causing them to take a few steps towards me.

"Nice to meet you both." I said with a smile and extending my hand out towards them in a friendly gesture.

"Nice to meet you." Brittany's friend said while shaking my hand. "I'm Quinn and this is Mercedes." She said nodding towards the other girl.

"Sup…" Mercedes said slapping my hand verses taking it. "So Brittany's told us a lot about you…"

I chuckled and decided to deflect since I wasn't entirely sure what all Brittany had said. "Well…" I said raising my eyebrows to prove my exaggeration. "None of it's true I swear." I said playfully raising my hands in surrender.

"Well… the way Brittany explains it the sun rises and sets with you so I guess if that's not true then we need to have a few words." Mercedes playfully challenged.

"Oh well in that case… it's all true." I responded back with a giggle and a huge sigh of relief that Brittany hadn't said anything too personal. "I certainly don't want to get on the wrong side of the best friends. That would make wooing Brittany much more difficult." I said winking at Brittany.

The four of use chatted easily for a little while and Brittany seemed to enjoy the fact that her friends and I had hit it off. Mercedes was awesome. She was a bad ass, won't take nothing from no one kinda girl just like me and I respected her for that. She also seemed to genuinely love Brittany which also endeared her to me. Quinn on the other hand was a little bit tougher to figure out since she was more reserved, but she was adorable, both in personality and appearance and she seemed to have Brittany's best interest at heart; a feeling I was intimately familiar with so at least we had that in common.

It was clear these three were a package deal. 'What was that old saying?' I asked myself… '_If you want the girl you gotta be willing to take the friends'_ or something like that I pondered. 'I guess with these two that shouldn't be too hard' I told myself looking at Mercedes animatedly telling a story about Tater Tots or _Tots _as she liked to call them.

After about ten minutes of distractedly chatting, Quinn saw someone she worked with and decided to pull Mercedes with her to go say hi effectively leaving Brittany and I alone for the first time.

"So…" Brittany sighed out with a big mega watt smile.

"So…" I responded smiling back and allowing her to take the lead in the conversation.

"Wadda ya think about my friends?" she asked sweetly

"They seem nice. I like them." I said easily. "But you wanna know who else I like?" I eyebrowed suggestively. "You!" I said reaching for the small of her back and pulling her in for another kiss.

"I'm glad you came..." I said after reluctantly pulling away.

"Me too…" she said licking her lips which caused me to smile even wider. "I wanted to make sure you were okay. You seemed kinda weird on the phone earlier. Is everything alright?"

"It is now." I said grabbing her hand and trying to reassure her. 'Actually, who am I kidding…?' I rethought. 'I'm trying to reassure myself.'

The rest of the night continued with little fan fair. Having Brittany here was a big comfort even if I didn't get to spend a whole lot time with her considering I did have to work. 'I wonder if I can get her to come home with me tonight?' The thought of going home to a cold empty apartment after the day I had was not even remotely appealing considering where my mind went every time I had even a second of idle time.

I was waiting on a few mildly attractive girls when I suddenly saw a hand wave over by the wait station at the end of the bar. I finished with the girls transaction and handed their change back to them and began shuffling towards the man in the corner.

"Hey Santana! Do you remember me?" he asked pleasantly.

I thought about it for a moment, catching a glimpse of Brittany dancing with her friends out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh yeah… Dave. From Brittany's birthday party?" I said remembering the incredibly annoying, going nowhere conversation we had a couple weeks ago.

"Right" he responded happily with a smile.

"So did you ever remember how we knew each other?" I asked out of courtesy, but not really caring what his answer was.

"Actually, funny you should mention that because I just figured it out today." He said with a crocked smile.

"Oh yeah… How?"

"Figgins'…' he said as I watched his eyes, demeanor and stance all change from friendly to menacing in an instant. "And I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to come with me." He said while raising the hem of his shirt to reveal a handgun tucked into his waistband.

TBC

**AN: Cue the dramatic cliffhanger music… :o Bum-Bum-Buuummm!**

**Sorry to leave you there. Well… sorta sorry… ;) Stay tuned!**

**What do you think? Are you happy with the return of Puck? I don't even think I realized how long I'd left him out of this story until I wrote that second POV and had to go back and check. It was chapter 12 or if you are going off of amount of time in months… I think it's been 5. :s Yikes… Sorry Puck and all you Puck lovers out there. Don't worry, Puck will play a big role in what happens next. Any guesses…**

**Thanks as always for reading and I would really appreciate a review.**

**Have a good weekend! Take care!**

**Drew**


	19. Conversations with Dead People

**AN: Hi again… Here is a new update. (3 updates in 2 weeks… that hasn't happened since summer.) :D You can thank my winter doldrums for yet another quick update. :) Who am I kidding, I actually love winter. There is no better feeling in the world than waking up on a cold February morning and seeing an email that reads- _Kirk Middle School is closed this morning due to no heat_. :) A-FRICKEN-MEN! So anyway you can thank a faulty district heating system for me getting this update out. So here- I happily offer you chapter 19. I hope you have as good a day as I did while I was writing this. Enjoy… and thank you all for your reviews and support and thank you to my beta Sam who I unforgivably forgot to thank in my last update. Please accept my apology Sam… Luv ya little honey dipper. ;) (Inside joke- sorry everyone who isn't Sam since you probably don't understand what the joke actually was.) ;)**

**Disclaimer: Glee's awesome! Santana and Brittany are awesome and I'm awesome, but unfortunately the only one I own is the last one and even that is sometimes debatable. ;) **

**Warning: This chapter contains some heavy shit… There is a character death, (non- Brittana of course), there is also another character who is seriously injured and her (or his) fate is still TBD and lastly there is another big revelation so if any of you have a bladder problem my friendly suggestion is to wear some adult diapers or plastic underwear until you've successfully made it to my closing authors note and even then I'm not sure it's 100% safe to take them off. The intensity of this chapter will probably continue for another chapter- maybe two. :s Just warning you… Continue if you wish… ;)**

**Happy reading! WhaHaHaHaHa! Was that a sinister enough cackle to justify the warning? :) I guess I'll find out in the reviews…**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Santana's POV**

The rest of the night continued with little fan fair. Having Brittany at the club tonight was a big comfort even if I didn't get to spend a whole lot time with her considering I did have to work. 'I wonder if I can get her to come home with me tonight?' The thought of going home to a cold empty apartment after the day I'd had was not even remotely appealing considering where my mind went every time I had even a second of idle time.

I was waiting on a few mildly attractive girls when I suddenly saw a hand wave over by the wait station at the end of the bar. I finished with the girls transaction and handed their change back to them and began shuffling towards the man in the corner.

"Hey Santana! Do you remember me?" he asked pleasantly.

I thought about it for a moment, catching a glimpse of Brittany dancing with her friends out of the corner of my eye.

"Oh yeah… Dave. From Brittany's birthday party?" I said remembering the incredibly annoying, going nowhere conversation we'd had a couple weeks ago.

"Right" he responded happily with a smile.

"So did you ever remember how we knew each other?" I asked out of courtesy, but not really caring if he did or didn't remember.

"Actually, funny you should mention that because I just figured it out today." He said with a crocked smile.

"Oh yeah… How?"

"Figgins'…' he said as I watched his eyes, demeanor and stance all change from friendly to menacing in an instant. "And I'm sorry, but you're gonna have to come with me." He said while raising the hem of his shirt to reveal a handgun tucked into his waistband.

**And Now Chapter 19- Conversations with Dead People**

**Santana's POV**

In an instant, upon seeing the gun all the blood drained from my body. I felt weak like my knees were going to buckle, tears started to prickle in my eyes and my heart began racing like I'd just run the 100 meter dash. 'This is it,' I thought. 'Figgins' knows everything and Dave's here to make sure I pay. I can't believe this is happening now… Just when I'd finally gotten my life on track,' I thought feeling my heart hammering erratically against my rib cage.

"Let's go and don't even think about making a scene." Dave said forcefully gripping my right shoulder to usher me out from behind the bar and pressing what I could only assume was the gun into my lower back. "Now walk…" he encouraged with a light shove between my shoulder blades.

We walked for a few steps and I could feel the gun being pressed harder and harder into my back. I looked around the bar at all the blissfully unaware people, happily drinking and dancing about before landing on Brittany. She was dancing and leaning in to say something to Mercedes. 'She looks so happy.' I thought feeling my chest tighten knowing that most likely this would be the last time I would ever get to see her beautiful, smiling face.

"You like her don't you?" Dave asked slowing our pace until we came to a stop about twenty yards away from the side exit.

"What do you care?" I said spat back angrily, getting pissed that not only was he here to kill me but now he was going to rub the feelings that I would never truly get to explore (thanks to him) back in my face.

"Believe it or not…" He said grabbing my attention as I noticed a slight softening in his tone. "I do care. Do you think I like doing this? You seem nice enough. And I have nothing against you." He said speaking genuinely. At least it appeared genuine from what I could tell. "Do you think I want to hurt you? Cause I don't! And by the way I've always liked Brittany. She's always been kind to me and she is actually one of the few people who know that I'm gay. And I'm guessing by the way you are looking at her, you like her too. Well… differently than I do of course." He said with a slight chuckle that told me he understood that my feelings for Brittany were less than platonic.

"What does it matter?" I sighed out, watching Brittany laugh at Mercedes response and resigning myself to the inevitable. "I've made so many mistakes in my life… she'll probably be better off without me."

The tears that had been threatening to spill ever since catching a glimpse of the gun were now running down my face, 'It's not fair.' I thought attempting to wipe them away with the back of my hand. 'I finally find some happiness. I finally do the right thing and now…' I thought leaving the statement unfinished as I clenched my eyes and bite my bottom lip in an effort to suppress the rising sob of despair.

"I'm sorry Santana." Dave said this time gripping my shoulder in an act that could only be described as comforting. I tried to take in a deep breath to control my lamenting, but instead it ended up causing my whole body to convulse in one big shaky sob. "I really am sorry." He said sadly. "Something tells me you don't deserve this, but unfortunately if we don't meet Figgins' within the next few minutes he's gonna send someone else and that person definitely won't be as nice as I am so we better get going."

"Fine…" I said looking at Brittany one last time and wiping my eyes yet again only to feel them pool anew with a fresh flow of new oncoming tears. 'It's for the best…' I told myself while watching Brittany happily spin around without a care in the world. 'She's better off with out me. She'll have a good life.' I thought, trying to accept the fact that it would be a life that I would unfortunately not get to be a part of it. "Let's just get this over with." I said solemnly turning back towards the door and giving up on all the plans that I had come to hope for over the last couple weeks while getting to know Brittany. Those hopes were dead now, just like me.

**Brittany's POV**

"Mercedes, I think that guy behind you is checking you out…" I said leaning in to tell her over the sound of the music.

Mercedes curiously and nonchalantly peeked over her left shoulder like she was posing for a Covergirl ad to see if it was true.

"Well…" she said turning back around and shouting over the music. "He obviously has good taste, but I think he's checking you out. Those types of guys always have a thing for tall, blonde, boney assed white girls."

The laughter in response to Mercedes comment just came spilling out of my mouth as I whirled around feeling the stitches starting to form in my side. "You're crazy!" I said waving her off and turning to see what Santana was up to at the bar.

'Hmmm…' I thought not seeing my sexy girlfriend where I'd expected her to be behind the bar. 'I wonder where she went?' as I scanned the area curiously from left to right.

As I spun around I caught sight of something moving out of the corner of my eye. My mind didn't register what it was immediately so I did a double take back in the direction of the image I'd thought I'd seen.

'What the hell…' I thought seeing the door gently close behind the familiar figures of the man and woman.

"I'll be right back." I told Mercedes not even sparing a second to turn around and look at her before taking off in the direction of the pair who had just left through the closed door.

I weaved my way quickly through the crowd of drunks, knocking into a few of them in my hast before finally reaching the door and pushing it open.

"Santana…" I yelled before the door could even fully open.

Upon hearing my voice the two froze. Santana froze after glancing back at me as she was stepping into the back seat of the large black SUV and Dave froze after turning back and seeing me standing behind them, stunned and practically about to pass out.

"Dave…" I said standing there wide eyed and feeling my heart catch nervously in my throat. "What are you doing? And why do you have a gun pointed at Santana?" I asked shakily.

Both of them stared at me for a moment before Santana quickly stepped back out of the vehicle and rushed towards me.

"Brittany go back inside!" she instructed on the verge of panic, nervously looking between me, Dave, and the gun he had lowered to his side. "You shouldn't be out here. Please… just go back in, find your friends and go home." she pleaded.

"No way!" I practically yelled. "Not until one of you tells me what's going on."

"Brittany…" Dave began coolly. "Santana's right! You should go back inside before someone see's you out here."

"Sorry ladies…" I heard a man say that I hadn't noticed approach with another shady looking man by his side. At the appearance of the two newcomers I watched Santana apprehensively step in front of me to shield me from the guys view. "I believe it's a little too late for that..." he finished arrogantly.

For a moment they stared at us before directing their attention towards Dave.

"Dav-id…" the man said cavalierly staring back at Dave with an intensity that didn't match his tone. "You were supposed to have Miss Lopez back by now. Mr. Figgins' isn't very happy with you…" he said almost saying, '_tisk, tisk, tisk'_ in his tone.

"Mr. Figgins'…" I announced, scrunching my face in questioning recognition of the name I had earlier overheard on the radio in the taxi on the way to the bar. After seeing all the eyes in the alley suddenly turn towards me; including Santana who was now facing me with a wide eyed, terrified expression on her face I hesitated and thought twice about finishing the rest of my statement.

"Brittany please continue…" the strange, calm man asked. "I have a feeling my friend and I" he said gesturing to the quiet man beside him "are probably the only ones here who are truly interested in knowing what you know about "Mr. Figgins'."

"I-I don't know anything…" I said stumbling over my words after thinking for a second. "I just heard his name on the radio earlier."

"See… she doesn't know anything." Santana announced, jumping into the conversation and hooking her right arm around my side to usher me behind her once again. "Just let her go. She's not involved in this."

"Well Miss Lopez… I'm afraid she is now." He said looking at the man beside him. "Kill her quickly so we can take Miss Lopez to Mr. Figgins' before the feds catch wind of his location."

I watched, wide-eyed as the quiet man pull a gun out from under his jacket almost like everything was in slow motion. I felt Santana grip my hip more firmly to step further in front of me. I heard the click of metal on metal as the man readied the gun and finally I heard a man yell "STOP!" from further down the alley yanking everyone's attention to the approaching man's voice.

The two guys' attention was diverted away from us for only a second before I heard a loud BANG and felt a sudden weight tackle me to the ground. It was Santana and she was using her body to shield me from the gunfire. Even in all the commotion I knew that was huge. I could see nothing but the pavement with Santana lying protectively on top of me as the BANGing continued to echo off the buildings lining the alleyway.

I was terrified as I shook with every new BANG as I overheard the frantic scrambling starting to gradually subside. Santana was still lying on top of me, pinning me with all her weight and forcing me to stay put when finally, the banging gunfire stopped. I wanted to look around even though I was terrified of what I might find, but Santana held me firmly in place. "Don't move…" she whispered while carefully lifting her body off me slightly to take in our surroundings.

"Oh my God…" Santana said causing me to grow more panicked if that was even possible at her tone. "Puck…" she said getting up quickly as I watched her run to a body that was lying a few yards away on the ground. Even though I heard Santana say something it still didn't register with me what she'd said or what was even going on. 'This is all too much for me to take.'

I stood up quickly after Santana had gotten off of me and noticed Dave's body and the bodies of the two other men lying bloodied and motionless on the ground. I wanted to throw up. I had never seen so much blood. I looked around my body, scanning myself to make sure I was okay when I noticed my hands were shaking. I nervously clasped them together in the hopes that it would help settle my nerves, but that was before I saw Santana leaning over another bloody body.

'Puck…' I thought finally recognizing Santana's word, thanks to the frightening image in front of me. His lifeless body jolted me out of my emotional oblivion as I ran to kneel at his side.

"Oh my God, is he okay…?" I asked frantically, feeling the tears sliding down my checks and grabbing his bloody hand that I hadn't even realized was covered in thin trails of steadily pooling blood.

"Puck wake up…" I cried out squeezing his hand and cupping his check trying to shake him awake. "Please wake up…" I cried noticing that his face looked just like it did when I'd seen him sleeping in the past.

"Brittany give me your jacket." Santana said causing me to look back up at her through my glassy, blurred and terrified eyes.

"Brittany…" she said again this time a little louder when I hadn't made a move to respond. "Your jacket… now!"

I reluctantly let go of Puck's hand and quickly took off my jacket and handed it over to Santana who pressed it down on top of Puck's abdomen where it appeared that most of the blood was originating. "Hold this…" she said nodding for me to take over in applying pressure to Puck's midsection.

I did as I was told as Santana rose to her feet, scanning the area. She looked around frantically before running to Dave to check his pulse.

After pulling her fingers back dejectedly and running them anxiously through her hair she looked down and grabbed the gun that was lying next to him and stuck it in the back of her skirt before pulling out her phone. All the while I continued to stare at her, stunned at this insane turn of events and trying to keep my hands pressed firmly on Puck's stomach.

"There's been a shooting in the alley behind The Inferno. A friend of mine's been shot. He's unconscious, but he has a pulse. I need help. Please hurry." She said into the phone before hanging up and running back to kneel across from me hovering over Puck.

"Are you okay?" she asked bring my attention back to her.

"I'm fine…" I said glancing briefly back up into her eyes without thinking because who was I kidding, I wasn't really fine considering what just happened. After a split second of selfish thought I looked back down at Puck to see that the blood had soaked all the way through my jacket.

"I got this…" Santana said placing her hand over my hands that were trembling and cupping my cheek with her other. I looked into her eyes hoping to gain some of her strength and what I saw was a combination of absolute determination, sincerity and something that looked a little like sadness and fear.

Feeling her fingers grazing tenderly along my check she said "Talk to him see if you can get him to wake up."

Slipping my hands out from under Santana's I shifted up towards his head to talk to him more directly.

"Puck…" I said speaking soothingly. "You gotta wake up. Please…" I begged him, but realistically I knew I was begging a much higher power than Puck. "I can't lose you. Please wake up. I need you," as the tears of uncertainty continued to slide down my pallid cheeks.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"What are you thinking?" I heard Santana say softly behind me as I continued to stare out the window at the unfamiliar scene in front of me.

I didn't answer. '_Hell_,' I felt like I couldn't answer. There was still so much uncertainty. So much was still going through my mind as I heard Santana padding softly towards me before encircling my waist and pulling me comfortingly towards the warmth of her chest. It had been a long sleepless night. The drive here alone had been really long and stressful since the officers wouldn't let me ride in the same car as Santana. Something about Santana needing to be briefed and a few other weird reasons that I really didn't understand

"I know you're probably scared and really confused right now…" she said resting her chin on top of my shoulder, "and I hope you know how sorry I am for putting you through this… I know this is all my fault."

I felt Santana shift nuzzling further into my neck. Her breathing was becoming labored as she sighed and breathed heavily against my shoulder. I knew she was starting to break down and 'who wouldn't' I thought after all she'd been through. She'd been so strong since the moment I walked out into that alley last night. '_Hell,_' she had even protected me with her life and the last thing I wanted her to feel was that this was her fault. 'It wasn't her fault. None of _this _was her fault.'

Upon arriving at the safe house in the middle of nowhere Santana told me everything. She told me about the night that she was arrested. She told me about the deal she cut and how she became an informant for the FBI. She told me about her boss Mr. Figgins'. That part I kinda had the feeling she wasn't really supposed to tell me, but the fact that she did made me feel even closer to her knowing that she trusted me enough to tell information even though she wasn't legally supposed to. She had opened up to me in ways that she'd never done before and she did it all while trying to comfort me and reassure me that Puck and everything else would eventually be okay. She's been amazing. So strong and so sure of herself that I actually started to think that none of this was actually getting to her, but it was and now she was starting to crumble under its heavy weight. All I wanted to do was help her see all the incredible things that I saw, but I was emotionally and physically spent and the only thing I felt like I could manage was to turn around and hold her.

We stood in the middle of the strange living room for a long time, holding each other, gently rocking back and forth and breathing in each other tired and dirty, but still distinguishable scents. Each one of us took turns crying and whispering hushed words of reassurance until eventually I felt like there was nothing left for me emotionally to cry over, but I still held her securely until she was ready to let go. She needed this comfort as much as I needed to give and receive it.

Finally, Santana pulled back to wipe her eyes before glancing away in what appeared to be shame.

"Hey…" I said reaching out to grab her cheeks and pull her back to look at me. I used the pads of my thumbs to softly wipe away her tear that were still silently leaking from her eyes before leaning in to rest my forehead against hers and shutting my eyes to bask in the closeness we were sharing despite the heavy circumstances of how we got here. She had let me in, finally like Puck said she eventually she would. If I could go back and change what had happened the night before I would, 'without a doubt,' but the destination, here and now with Santana and the level of trust I felt with her in this moment was indescribable. It felt like how '_love' _was supposed to feel_._

Just then I felt Santana's phone vibrate in her pocket. I pulled away from her forehead before pulling her back in by her cheeks for a short chaste kiss and lingering again to rest my forehead against hers.

"You should probably get that…" I said letting my hands graze down along her cheeks to her neck, across her shoulders and down her arms to finally rest on her hips.

"Yeah, you're probably right" she said looking extremely tired and reaching into her pocket to retrieve her phone.

"Hey…" she said before pausing to listen. "We're hangin' in there and yes the security is sitting outside. How's Noah?" she asked as I watched her for any type of telling reaction that would let me know how Puck was doing.

TBC…

**AN: So did you need the Depends I recommended? Or was it tissues that you needed? ;) I know I'm emotionally drained after writing this chapter and I knew what was going to happen so I can only imagine how you feel (unless you tell me in a review that is…) So anyway… (Shameless plea for reviews out of the way and moving on) I'm off to take a reward long winters nap. Not too long of course since I know you're all anxiously waiting to find out Puck's fait and to see how Brittana does in the safe house I've created that probably isn't all that safe come to think of it. (possible spoiler- hehehe) Whoa… relax people! Put your pitch forks down. I said _possible_ spoiler. Trust me… I'll take care of Brittana. :) Don't you worry your pretty little heads.**

**RIP to all the people we lost recently: Joe Paterno- I'll miss you Joe Pa. (We Are- Penn State! I'm a Penn State alumi btw so this is not a joke. We at Penn State never joke about 2 things, 1- the creamery closing down, *I love that place* and 2- Joe Paterno. RIP my brother.) Whitney Houston- Your beautiful pipes and sweaty lip will be missed. (I think I'll watch The Bodyguard at some point this week in honor of the fallen singer/actress. I'm sure it will be on TV enough. *eye roll* Sorry you couldn't get your shit together. *Thanks for that btw Bobby Brown*) and lastly my version of Dave Karofsky. He died a hero saving Brittana's lives. I believe a moment of silence is in order out of respect for them all. *bowing my head***

**So how do you feel after this chapter? Let me know…**

**Thanks for reading and take care and happy early Valentines Day!**

**Drew**


	20. Intensive Care

**AN: Hi ladies… I'm back. I hope everyone had a good V-Day's with their sweeties. I had a good one. My daughter got me a #1 dad t-shirt (too fricken cute), my son got me nothing (the ungrateful little prick) ;) and my wife… well I can't tell you what she got me. A gentleman never tells. ;) Actually, I guess I can tell you parts of it. The first and most important part at least to me is that she is giving me another son. Yup, we are having a boy. :D I figured I'd give you all some scoop since recently I received quite a few questions about my wife, the pregnancy and my family. :) We are very happy with the news! Not that another little princess wouldn't have been wonderful because considering recent events my daughter is currently my favorite. ;) ;) **

**Disclaimer: Things I own… Glee-nope, Santana and Brittany-nope, a safe house in upstate NY-nope, (and regretfully) a winning powerball ticket- nope. (Damn you whoever you are in Rhode Island that lost your ticket… :[ I could have used $300 million dollars. It certainly would have given me more time to write if I didn't have to go to work everyday and I'll be damned if I would have ever lost that ticket.) ;) I think that about covers it, at least for now. Sorry for my Tourettes moment. Clearly I own nothing.**

**Happy reading!**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Brittany's POV**

Upon arriving at the safe house in the middle of nowhere Santana told me everything. She told me about the night that she was arrested. She told me about the deal she cut and how she became an informant for the FBI. She told me about her boss Mr. Figgins'. That part I kinda had the feeling she wasn't really supposed to tell me, but the fact that she did made me feel even closer to her knowing that she trusted me enough to tell me information even though she wasn't legally supposed to. She had opened up to me in ways she'd never done before and she did it all while trying to comfort me and reassure me that Puck and everything else would eventually be okay. She'd been amazing. So strong and so sure of herself, so much so that I actually started to think that none of this was actually getting to her, but it was and now she was starting to crumble under its heavy burden. All I wanted to do was help her see all the incredible things that I saw, but I was emotionally and physically spent and the only thing I felt like I could manage was to turn around and hold her.

We stood in the middle of the strange living room for a long time, holding each other, gently rocking back and forth and breathing in each others tired and dirty, but still distinguishable scents. Each one of us taking turns crying and whispering hushed words of reassurance until eventually I felt like there was nothing left for me emotionally to cry over, but I still held her securely until she was ready to let go. She needed this comfort as much as I needed to give and receive it.

Finally, Santana pulled back to wipe her eyes before glancing away in what appeared to be shame.

"Hey…" I said reaching out to grab her cheeks and pull her back to look at me. I used the pads of my thumbs to softly wipe away her tear that were still silently leaking from her eyes before leaning in to rest my forehead against hers and shutting my eyes to bask in the closeness we were sharing despite the heavy circumstances of how we got here. She had let me in, 'finally' like Puck said she eventually would. If I could go back and change what had happened last night I would, 'without a doubt,' but the destination, here and now with Santana and the level of trust I felt with her in this moment was indescribable. It felt like how '_love' _was supposed to feel_._

Just then I felt Santana's phone vibrate in her pocket. I pulled away from her forehead before pulling her back in by her cheeks for a short chaste kiss and lingering again to rest my forehead against hers.

"You should probably get that…" I said letting my hands graze down along her cheeks to her neck, across her shoulders and down her arms to finally rest on her hips.

"Yeah, you're probably right" she said looking extremely tired and reaching into her pocket to retrieve her phone.

"Hey…" she said before pausing to listen. "We're hangin' in there and yes the security is sitting outside. How's Noah?" she asked as I watched her for any type of telling reaction that would let me know how Puck was doing.

**And Now Chapter 20- Intensive Care**

**Brittany's POV**

I couldn't get a good read on how Santana's conversation was going. There seemed to be way too many _okay's _and_ yeah's _and_ all right's _to be bad, but I wasn't exactly getting a thumbs up either and I was starting to feel the effects of not knowing. It had been over fourteen hours since the paramedics had carted Puck off in the ambulance and I hadn't heard a thing since. I needed to know that Puck was going to be okay. He was the only family I really had and I definitely didn't want our last conversation to be the last conversation we _ever_ had. 'He's okay. He's gotta be okay…' I willed myself to believe. 'Santana's reaction would've been stronger than saying _all right_ for the fifth time if he hadn't made it. Right?' I asked myself in a moment of doubt as I watched Santana's eyes unconvincingly fall to the floor. 'No, she cares about him too. I know she does. She would react differently if he hadn't made it.' I said reassuring myself and deciding to take Santana's middle of the road reactions as some small form of comfort.

"Well…?" I finally mouthed and gestured at her after the sixth _all right_ when the wait had become just too painful to withstand for even another second.

Santana nodded and half smiled in my direction to indicate that it wasn't bad news, but from the extent of the conversation and the expressions and grimaces she was making, it didn't look good either.

"Okay… Thanks Carl. Let me know if you hear anything more about Puck and if there is anything new about Figgins' or his whereabouts'." She said pausing and looking at me with a small smile turning the corners of her lips up. "Bye" she said ending the call.

"Well…?" I said this time out loud with a little extra exaggeration to prove that I was long pasted tired of waiting.

"He survived the surgery." She sighed out with a small smile of relief. "Somehow the bullet in his abdomen managed to miss all his vital organs and the one in his arm went straight through so they were able to repair the damage to his arm without too much trouble, but Britt..." she said stepping towards me and taking my hands.

I immediately noticed the change in Santana's expression and the shift in her body language from hopeful to reassuring and the change caused my heart to nervously drop into my stomach. 'Oh my God something went wrong' I thought, fearing her next possible words.

"He hasn't woken up yet and he's still in critical condition." She said looking straight into my eyes and rubbing the backs of my hands with her thumbs.

I thought for a moment about what Santana had said. 'It didn't sound like bad news. He was alive after all. Why does Santana still look so sad?'

"He's alive… that's good. He just needs time to get better. Right?" I asked optimistically, not really understanding the reason for Santana's permanent somber expression.

"Britt… It's not exactly that simple." Santana said taking a deep breath and flipping our linked hands over to stare at the back of my hands for an extended pause leading me to think that she was really weighing her next words carefully. "The doctors said..." as she paused and brought our hands up to her lips to kiss the back of my right hand. "God… I don't even know if I should tell you this…" she sighed out before looking away.

"Santana just tell me. I need to know the truth." I said bringing her attention quickly back to me and feeling a fearful flutter start to flop around in my chest seeing her glassed over eyes. "I can handle it. Just tell me."

Even saying the words I wasn't sure I could handle it, but I needed to know regardless. So with all the courage I could muster, I wordlessly begged Santana to continue with just an encouraging look and a nod.

"You're right, I know you can handle it. You're one of the strongest people I know." she admitted with a small smile. "You deserve to know. I just don't want you to lose hope because the way it sounds… it sounds bad."

"Just tell me. Please!" I begged again.

"Okay…" she sighed out and swallowed the noticeable lump in her throat. "Apparently his heart stopped a couple times during the surgery. The doctors were able to shock it back in rhythm, but their not sure what kind of damage was done as a result. It sounds like after the surgery the surgeon gave Detective Howell the worst case scenario, so again…" she said shaking and gripping my hands a little tighter. "Don't lose hope because he is still alive. But" she said pausing to take a breath. "The doctor said that we need to be prepared that Puck might not make it."

"No!" I immediately said feeling my eyes fill with unwelcome tears. "Puck's tough! He's not gonna die. He just needs time to heal. He's gonna be fine. Puck told me once that he's like Chuck Norris and nothing can take down Chuck Norris. Chuck Norris doesn't even sleep, he waits. And that's what Puck's doing. He's just waiting until his body heals and then he'll wake up. He's gonna be okay. I know it!"

"You're right" Santana said reaching out to let me fall into her embrace.

I could feel my body and emotions succumbing to the exhaustion of this whole ordeal as Santana wrapped her arms around my midsection and pulled me as close to her as she could by the back of my neck, massaging it with her hand.

"Puck's tough." She said speaking softly into my ear. "If anyone can get through this it's him."

Santana placed a few short, sweet kisses to the side of my head and neck as we continued to hold each other. I didn't want her to let go. I was afraid if she did that I would feel alone and I would crumble into a hopeless puddle of endless tears, but I wasn't alone. (Thank goodness.) 'Santana is here with me and we can get through this together. I know we can.'

"It's gonna be alright." Santana reassured as I felt her warm breath hit the side of my neck. "I don't think God would put Puck or us for that matter through all of this and then have it not work out."

"I didn't know you believed in God…" I stated, pulling back for a moment out of surprise.

"I do." She said reaching out to wipe away some tears that were still slowly falling from my eyes. "Sometimes things happen that there is no other way to explain them other than the possible intervention of some higher power. Look at us…" she shrugged. "I don't deserve you and yet here you are."

Hearing Santana admit that she didn't feel like she was good enough for me broke my already fragile heart. 'How can she have such a warped sense of self worth?' And even though it was hard for me to hear Santana put herself down like that I stayed quiet and continued to listen until she was finished before I would refute what she'd said.

"Puck brought you into my life which I thank God for him everyday, but the fact that you stayed given everything I've told you and everything that I've put you through…" she said squeezing her eyes tightly and shaking her head back in forth in disbelief. "I just can't think of any other way to explain why someone like you would want to stay with someone like me."

"Santana, you don't give yourself enough credit." I said lifting her chin back up to look at me and leaning in to rest my forehead against hers. "The things you've done for me in the time I've known you have been amazing. You're the most selfless, patient, understanding, brave person I've ever met. And the list could go on. The things you've done for me in the last day alone is by the very definition, amazing. How could you ever think that I would want or need anything more?"

"Maybe because I'm the one who put you in all those horrible situations to begin with…" She said breaking away from our embrace and walking away with her back to me to stare out the sliding glass door towards the lake that lined the back of the house. "If you weren't with me you would never have come out into the alley and been in danger to begin with. If you weren't with me Puck would never have gotten shot and he wouldn't be fighting for his life right now. If you weren't with me you wouldn't have had to worry about me getting hurt or accept that I was having sex with strangers. I did these things to you. It's my fault you're even here."

"You're right…" I said causing her to turn around quickly at my admittance. It was clear from her expression that she hadn't expected me to say that and if possible she looked even more hurt than she had a moment ago. I hated to see that my words were causing her any additional pain, but I needed her to see that she was wrong about the blame she was placing on herself.

"It is your fault that I'm here because if not for you and what you did for me last night I'd probably be dead and that is the only thing I can agree is your doing or your fault. You can't control what anyone else does. All you can control is yourself. You chose to step in front of a bullet for me last night and that was the only thing you were able to control and that is something that I'll never be able to repay you for. You saved my life. And as far as any of the other things you are blaming yourself for…" I said pausing to take a much needed breath since I was kind of running on auto pilot at the moment before continuing. "It was my choice and my doing when I decided to come out into that alley last night which by the way I would choose again in a heartbeat because I love you. And it wasn't your fault that some lunatic shot Puck or Dave either. It was the man who shot them… It was his doing and he is the only one that deserves the blame for that. So stop blaming yourself for things that you have no control over."

Santana looked at me for a moment, shocked into silence as I took another much needed breath of air after my frantic breathless ramble.

"Y-You…" she stuttered and breathed in deeply. "You love me?"

"What? Huh?" I stuttered back. 'Did I say that?' I thought, thinking back to my speech.

"You said you would choose it again because you love me…" she said making it sound like a question.

'I guess I did say that.' I thought for a second. And in that brief moment I knew that I had meant it.

"Well..." I started to say while trying to think and recover. It wasn't exactly how I would have liked to admit my feelings, but I guess the cat was out of the bag now. "I didn't mean to say it like that, but yes…" I said smiling and starting to walk towards her. "I love you."

I stood in front of her, unmoving for a second and watching her beautiful mind run a mile a minute. I really must have shocked her because I could practically see the wheels turning behind her eyes. She actually looked kind of terrified now that I thought about it.

"You really love me?" she finally asked almost in disbelief as a tear slid down her cheek.

I smiled and stepped forward, gripping her waist and leaning in to kiss away the tear that was trailing alongside her lips.

"Yes. I love you." I said leaning in to kiss all her doubts away.

I wrapped my arms around her waist and held her securely as she brought her hands up to my face and combed away my hair with her fingers. This kiss was soft and sweet, everything a kiss after a statement like that was supposed to be. Our lips and tongues moved easily against each others; one leading, the other following and then switching to allow the other to do the same.

We continued like that for some time. Occasionally, a small whimper, moan or deep breathy sigh would escape out of one of us, but I was never quite sure which one since I could no longer tell where Santana ended and I began. Kissing Santana was so easy and so simple, so much so that I almost forgot the circumstance of how we got here. She tasted like cinnamon spiced gum and her body was warm like when you held onto a warm cup of hot chocolate. I love hot chocolate and I love Santana and it didn't even bother me that she hadn't said I love you back. I wanted her too, but I wanted her to say it when she was ready. I had a feeling that she loved me back anyway without her even saying the actual words given that she was willing to potentially die to protect me.

"Mmm…" Santana moaned as she sucked a little more firmly on my bottom lip, bringing it into her mouth. I could feel her wet tongue gliding expertly along the under side of my lip which in turn resulted in me gripping and clawing into her lower back roughly.

I could feel the now familiar signs of arousal starting to burn within my body and particularly between my legs as my tight hold on her waist joined our hips together firmly.

_DING-DONG_

"Fuckin hell." Santana sighed and growled out, turning to shot daggers at whoever stood behind the closed front door. "Don't move" she said kissing me quickly yet passionately before walking to go see who was here.

**Santana's POV**

"Brittany…" I yelled out so she could hear me from in the living room. "Can you come here?"

"What is it?" she asked as I heard her approach from behind me.

"Officer Bieste brought us some groceries, clothes and toiletries." I said turning back to look at her walking towards us. "Can you help me bring some of these bags inside?"

"Sure" she said picking up a few of the grocery bags and walking them into the kitchen.

I grabbed the bags of clothes and tried to grab the toiletries as well, but fumbled with the bag of toothpaste and other essentials as I tried to pick it up.

"I got it" the officer said bending over to put the spilled contents back in the bag. "Where do you want me to take these?" she asked gesturing politely inside.

"Oh, thanks. I guess in the bathroom would be fine." I said nodding towards the back hallway where the bathroom was.

XXXXXXXXXXX

"Thanks Officer!" I said after the three of us had brought all the bags inside. "We really appreciate everything."

"No problem…" she said as she turned back towards me before walking back out through the front door. "And if you need anything else just call. I'll be one of the regular officers assigned to your security so my number is in your phone under Bieste, spelled B-I-E-S-T-E. It's French."

"Oh…" I said curiously, but hoping she had noticed the small cringe that I couldn't help from raising in my features at the mention of her name and the way it was pronounced. 'Man, God was certainly not on her side when she was given that name because to give a women like her a name like that was just plain cruel.' Especially given that she seemed genuinely nice and considerate.

"Okay… thanks!" I said as she turned to leave.

After shutting the door behind her I went to find Brittany. I heard some moving around in the bedroom so I headed back that way.

Upon entering the bedroom I saw Brittany holding a small flannel shirt in front of her eyes. I chuckled seeing her disapproving body language. It was clear, just looking at her back that she was not a fan of her new wardrobe.

"Not fond of your new clothes?" I said walking over to the bed to pick up a pair of granny panties. Brittany quickly snatched the underwear out of my hand and frowned.

"What the heck am I gonna do with these and with four flannel shirt?" she said throwing the underwear and flannel shirt back on the bed and picking up a second one. "It's August! I'm gonna have sweat stains worse than my high school English teacher, Mr. Keddy. We used to call him Sweaty Keddy." She said turning to look at me with a pout. "We weren't very nice to him."

I laughed again, looking at Brittany's cute little pout and seeing the guilt she felt about making fun of her teacher. 'Too cute…'

"You know you don't have to wear the shirts if you don't want to." I said cocking my eyebrow suggestively. "I wouldn't mind if you went topless."

"I bet you wouldn't." she said smirking and turning back to look at all the clothes laying spread out on the bed.

"We don't even have bathing suits." She said pouting some more and tossing a black bra back on the bed. "We're stranded at a lake house and we can't even go swimming."

"Britt as much as I would love to go swimming with you especially given that we don't have bathing suits," I said getting momentarily distracted at the thought of going skinny dipping with Brittany. "But we couldn't go swimming even if we had suits. We can't leave the house. It's not safe."

The look on Brittany's face when I said we couldn't leave the house was gut wrenching. She looked like the last of her optimism had just been kicked out of her body.

"But you know…" I said trying quickly to recover. "Our bath tub is about the size of the pool in my neighborhood as a child. I wouldn't mind going for a dip with you in there; suits or no suits."

Brittany looked unconvinced so I tried a different tactic.

"Actually a bath might be good for the both of us. I'm gonna go start the water…" I said more or less asking rather than stating. "It might help us both relax and I know I'd like to get cleaned up a little. I feel pretty disgusting."

"Yeah I do too, but I don't know…" she said trailing off.

"No funny business I promise." I said holding my hands in the air. "Wait a second…" I said before she could say anything further. "We did decide that kissing didn't fall into the funny business category, right? Because I can't promise there won't be some kissing going on. You're just too irresistible to abstain from completely."

Brittany half smiled in response so I took that as a promising sign and gave myself a small pat on the back for lifting her spirits even if it was only slightly.

"Okay, but our underwear stays on." She countered.

"Deal!" I said leaning in to seal the deal with a kiss on her cheek. "I'll go start the water and grab some towels. You bring in the shampoo and stuff."

XXXXXXXXXX

"So is this like a date?" Brittany asked innocently as she sat with her back against my chest.

"It can be if you want it to be." I said with a smile evident in my tone.

"I think it's a date." She announced matter-of-factly.

"Then it's a date." I said wrapping my left arm tighter around her shoulders and rubbing her other arm with my right hand.

The water was warm and the scent of lavender filled the room as soft soothing music played in the background. It was relaxing and I don't think any doctor could have ordered anything better in that moment. Since getting into the tub we hadn't said much we hadn't even really kissed other than a few chaste kisses being applied to Brittany's neck, cheeks or shoulders. It was nice just to have Brittany close and to feel her smooth, soft body and light weighted pressure on top of my chest. We hadn't moved much but occasionally someone's leg or body would shift and I would feel her skin move against mine or the pressure of the water would slosh away and then break back against my body. 'It felt nice; soothing; comforting.'

It occurred to me, in that moment with my eyes comfortably closed and my arms and legs wrapped around Brittany that I felt content; which was a minor miracle given the circumstance. I knew that we still had a lot to deal with and in some ways we had already lost so much. I mean… Puck was still in serious condition, Dave had lost his life, Figgins' was still on the loose and probably wanted to kill me, but in a few small ways things felt like they were getting better or at least going to get better. One, I would never have to have sex with another person unless I wanted to because I was no longer an escort, two, Brittany was here and we'd made it through the night (alive), three, we were safe and no one knew where we were, four, I'd opened up to Brittany about everything and I no longer had to lie and lastly and most importantly I knew that Brittany felt the same way about me that I did about her.

"I love you." I said easily, without a thought as I softly kissed her neck just below her ear.

TBC…

**AN: Yay… chapter 20 is done! When I started writing this story by no means did I ever think I would make it to 20 chapters, but then again if you knew the way I write you'd see how that could happen. Normally, for each chapter I will list the things I want to include and normally the list is about 6-8 things long. After I finish the chapter I go back and look at the list and realize that I only included 2 or 3 of the things on the list and that the rest have to go in the next chapter. So at this rate given everything I want to include and everything I have planned for this story we are looking at being finished at about chapter 100. 'Uggg…' I think I need to revise my wish list a little so this doesn't turn into life long endeavor. **

**What do you think? I changed what I originally planned for this chapter and decided to go the lovie dovie route which was part two of the things that I could mention from my wife's Valentines gifts to me. She helped me a little with this chapter because she's typically a little more mushie than I am, but not by much as I'm sure you all had already guessed based on my previous chapters. I'm kind of a softy, what can I say? Well a softy when it comes to certain things, anyway.**

**So thanks again for reading and thank you Sam for betaing my work. If you haven't already you should check out her stories as well. (lacksubstance)- she's got a really promising Santana/ Quinn story called A Dangerous Game if you are interested or like that pairing.**

**Take care peoples and see you next time.**

**Drew**


	21. Worrying and Overcoming

**AN: Hi again… :) Not gonna waste your time with my normal authors notes. :( *Oh you know you're gonna miss it. ;) But I will say there are certainly enough words for you to read in this chapter and occupy your minds with, without my ramblings clouding them. (Longest chapter I've ever written btw.) So enjoy and thanks for everything as always.**

**Lacksubstance- You're the shit for helping me proof read and ready this massive chapter. Who knew editing a chapter of this size was so difficult. I know I had a hard time, but that could be because I have the attention span of a 3 year old. (My daughter can pay attention longer than I can- 'sometimes.' Depends what I have to pay attention to.) ;) Sam- Thank God you don't have my pea brain or the attention span that goes along with it or else this chapter might never have gotten finished! You're a life saver! See… I guess I did squeeze in a little ramble. :) How bout that… ;) **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Glee. I don't own Santana and Brittany. I don't own anything lesbian or lesbian related. (Please don't check my computer. I swear I deleted those…) ;) I think that's about all for now. **

**Happy reading! Reviews are greatly appreciated! Love you all!**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Santana's POV**

"So is this like a date?" Brittany asked innocently as we sat in the tub together with her back against my chest.

"It can be if you want it to be." I said with a smile evident in my tone.

"I think it's a date." She announced matter-of-factly.

"Then it's a date." I said wrapping my left arm tighter around her shoulders and rubbing her other arm with my right hand.

The water in the tub was warm and the scent of lavender filled the bathroom as soft soothing music played in the background. It was relaxing. And I couldn't think of anything, doctor prescribed or otherwise that could have soothed my frazzled nerves or eased the tension in my muscles better than this bath with Brittany was doing right now. Since getting into the tub we hadn't said much, we hadn't even really kissed other than a few chaste kisses being applied to Brittany's neck, cheeks or shoulders. It was nice just having Brittany close and to be able to feel her smooth, soft body and light weighted pressure on top of my chest. Moving wasn't really something we were interested in either since we were both exhausted, but occasionally someone's legs or body would shift and I would feel Brittany's skin move against my own or the pressure of the water would slosh away and then break back against my body. 'It felt nice; soothing and comforting.'

It occurred to me, in that moment with my eyes comfortably closed and my arms and legs wrapped around Brittany that I felt content; which was a minor miracle given the circumstance. I knew that we still had a lot to deal with and in some ways we had already lost so much. I mean Puck was still in serious condition, Dave had lost his life, Figgins' was still on the loose and probably wanted to kill me, but in a few small ways things felt like they were getting better or at least going to get better. One, I would never have to have sex with another person unless I wanted to because I was no longer an escort. Two, Brittany was here and we'd made it through the night (alive) and thankfully no one knew where we were. Three, I'd opened up to Brittany about everything and for the first time in a very long time I didn't have to lie and lastly and most importantly… I knew that Brittany felt the same way about me that I did about her.

"I love you." I said easily, without a thought as I softly kissed her neck just below her ear.

**And Now Chapter 21- Worrying and Overcoming **

**Santana's POV**

Almost immediately, upon hearing my words I felt Brittany's chest rise against the inside of my forearm as I felt her breath momentarily catch in her chest before she let out a small content sigh.

"I love you too." She breathed out, leaning in closer and tucking herself into the bend of my elbow.

I could see a small smile start to rise at the corners of her lips as she rested her head comfortably between my arms and my chest. At seeing the smile I knew I'd done the right thing by admitting my feelings. Not that saying the words had actually required any thought. The words seemed to have a mind of their own like they needed and wanted to be said all along. I'd made her happy; that I could see. It felt good knowing I could do that especially under the circumstances.

Leaning back after savoring Brittany's expression, I rested my head against the lip of the cool, slick ceramic tub and shut my eyes to enjoy the moment of serenity. My life had never been what you could call calm so I wanted to enjoy this moment of peace and quiet before it was gone. With Puck in bad shape and the worry over Figgins' still being on the loose I had a lot weighing on my mind, but here in this tub I didn't want to think about any of those worries. So trying to be a little selfish for the first time in awhile I put all those thoughts out of my mind. 'I just need to feel close to her,' I thought as I leaned forward and kissed Brittany at the joint of her neck and shoulder.

It was warm in the tub and upon contact I felt the moisture of her damp skin coat my lips. I needed to taste her again because that one short taste was not nearly enough once I felt the wetness of her skin collect on my lips. She tasted clean with a hint of fruit, 'maybe strawberries or cherries,' I thought licking my lips to see if I could figure out the sweetness. The overwhelming need to taste her again caused me to linger at her throat and nip at her sensitive skin a few more times for good measure. When I finally pulled away I involuntarily licked my lips again. 'Definitely cherries…' I thought with a smile as I wrapped both of my arms tighter around her, bringing her body as close to mine as I could.

The sound of some cheesy easy listening 90's song could be heard faintly in the distance, 'maybe Bryan Adams or Rod Stewart,' I thought, not really taking the time to listen too thoroughly. Brittany's skin was too distracting to think about much else. The feel of the warm water and the smoothness of her skin was intoxicating as I trailed my hands down her arms, sliding them underneath to feel the sides of her stomach and finally over her hips, which unfortunately was as far as I could reach with Brittany's weight on top of me preventing me from being able to continue any lower.

I worked an easy circuit up and down her sides, occasionally stopping to knead at her hips or any other part of her body that I was so inclined to stop at based on my desire. The feel of the heat coming from Brittany's body and the pressure of the water sliding through my fingers felt amazing. So much so, that I was starting to feel the slow burn of arousal heating up between my legs.

"Santana…" Brittany said softly.

At the mere sound of her voice and the way it sounded rolling through her lips, I felt my clit twitch in response. Given the tracks of my hands and the direction of my mind I wasn't at all surprised at my bodies' response. I'd wanted her for so long and with all the other worries turned off in my mind all that was left was the sweet thought of Brittany.

"Hmm…" I hummed mindlessly as I continued to move my hands around her body.

"Can we talk about something?" she asked.

"Sure…" I said not even realizing that I'd given her an answer since I was so preoccupied with the heat consuming my body as a result of the work of my hands.

"It's kinda serious…" she said weakly.

'Fuck!' I thought inwardly as her words penetrated through my lust induced haze. The last thing I wanted right now was another serious thought or worry to occupy my mind, but the nervousness in Brittany's voice made me push my own feelings aside and stop the wandering path of my hands.

"Okay…" I said grabbing her submerged left hand. "What do you want to talk about?"

"Sex…" she said trailing off at the end of the word and making it sound like a worrisome question. "I'm ready. I mean I think I'm ready. I mean I want to. I mean we can if you... I-I mean…"

"Wait…" I said squeezing her hand in an effort to ease her noticeable nerves. "Turn around" I said pushing her left hand forward and pulling her right hip back in an effort to coax her to do as I'd asked.

Once we were facing each other after I'd helped her readjust to a closer position by encouraging her legs over top of mine with a couple short tugs from under her knees. I asked "What do you want to talk about?"

"I-I…" she said losing contact with my eyes and looking at the small pool of water sitting between us.

"Come here…" I said pulling her by her waist towards me and wrapping my arms around her midsection. The act pushed all the water out from between us so that now our bodies were practically connected at their most intimate places. The only things keeping our centers from touching were both pairs of our wet underwear, (mine for two reasons.) The fact that our centers were pushed together didn't go unnoticed to me given where my mind was moments ago. But in trying to be supportive I pushed those needs aside.

"Take your time. I promise whatever you wanna talk about, I'll be patient. There's no rush other than the fact that it will start to get cold in here eventually. I wonder how much hot water we have in this place…" I said trying to lighten the mood as a half smile tugged on the corners of my lips. I added the last part because I wanted to ease the tension because as I rubbed her back I could feel the muscles that lay just below her skin pulled taunt to the point of knots as I continued to rub her back in soothing circles.

"I love you." She said sweetly as I continued to hold her in my lap.

"I love you too." I said surprising myself with the ease at which the words had come rolling out of my mouth. "And I'll wait as long as you need to feel comfortable."

"I feel comfortable now…" she said pulling back only slightly to look me in my eyes before kissing me tenderly.

I opened my mouth willingly to feel her tongue slide between my lips and press up against my tongue. Our parted lips and happy tongues moved easily against each other; tasting and feeling everything that the other person had to offer. I didn't want the kiss to end because it felt so good to be tangled up in Brittany, but I knew she had things she wanted to say so after a few minutes and before I lost myself completely in the kiss, I pulled back.

We stared at each other for a hazy moment as she fingered some hair tenderly away from my face.

"Whenever you're ready…" I encouraged, noticing the double meaning.

She looked down for a second before returning her eyes quickly to mine and began nervously. "I think I'm ready to take the next step with you, but I wanted to talk about something first."

"Okay…" I prodded her to continue. I had a guess where this conversation was going, but I wanted her to say it herself because the more she talked about sex or sex related topics the more comfortable she would feel or at least the more comfortable I hoped she'd feel when the time was actually right.

"STD's…" she said staring at me nervously.

'Fuck!' I thought again, this time feeling like an idiot for not expecting this in the first place and for more importantly not bringing it up myself given my former occupation.

"Oh my God Britt, I'm so sorry." I said slumping into myself and releasing my tight hold on her waist to let her settle on the floor of the tub. "We should have talked about this before now. I'm so sorry you've had to worry about this."

"It's okay." She justified which made me feel even worse that she was letting me slide on this one. "It's not like it's something I really wanted to discuss either."

"No, but I should have said something. It's my issue and I should have made it okay for you." I said pausing to inwardly reprimand myself. "I don't have any STD's or STI's." I finally said. "I got tested every month, sometimes less depending on the amount of clients I've seen, sometimes more. But actually the last time I got tested was the morning before I got attacked so I haven't had sex with anyone since that test because he beat the shit out of me before we could get that far. And I got the negative test results back a couple days later. So you don't have to worry. Whenever we do have sex it will just be you and I in bed together or in this tub together or on the table or in the shower or where ever else you might decide you want to do the deed. I'm flexible." I said winking at her to again lighten the mood.

"Good! I'm glad. I was worried for you." She said endearingly.

'Of course Brittany was worried about me.' I thought chuckling lightly at the sentiment.

"So what now?" I asked curiously, not really knowing if she was ready now or if I should or shouldn't make a move.

"Now I think we should get out of the tub. It is starting to get a little chilly in here." She said starting to scoot away, getting ready to stand up.

"Hold on…" I said grabbing behind her one knee and gripping her waist with my other hand to pull her back into my lap. "We do have more hot water…" I said reaching behind her to turn on the faucet to fill the tub with more hot water and holding her tightly with my other arm so she couldn't scoot away. "I'm not ready to let go of you just yet." I said while pulling the plug to let some of the cold water out so that we would have a few more minutes with just the two of us before we had to get out of the tub and back to the reality of our situation.

"Awww…" she swooned. "That's cute, but I hope you think pruned fingers are cute too because I'm starting to think that if we stay in here any longer it might become permanent." She said leaning back and raising her hands so I could see all the soft wrinkles at the tips of her fingers.

"Trust me I think every part of you is cute including your pruned fingers so it's gonna take a little more than that for me to let you out of my arms right now."

"Oh the hardships…" she said smiling sarcastically and joining our lips together once again.

**Brittany's POV**

After getting out of the tub and making a couple sandwiches that we really didn't eat, we decided to take a nap. It had been about 36 hours since either one of us had gotten any sleep so I was hopeful that sleep would come easily. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the case for either one of us.

"You still awake?" I asked quietly, after about an hour in case she was actually asleep.

"Yeah…" Santana said over my shoulder while scooting flush with my back and gripping my waist tighter around my stomach. "You can't sleep either?"

"No," I said regretfully. "I just have too much on my mind and I can't seem to turn it off."

"You wanna talk about anything?" she asked sweetly. "It might help."

"No…" I said rolling over to face Santana as we both readjusted our legs into comfortable, interlocking positions. "I'm basically just worried about Puck. I wish Detective Carl would call again and tell us something more."

"Well look at it this way…" she said rubbing my exposed arm over my t-shirt. "No news means he's still fighting and hangin' in there and that's good."

"I guess…" I said knowing it was true, but still selfishly wishing for something a little more encouraging.

"What can I do?" she asked sadly, probably noticing my lack of enthusiasm. "How bout I call him to see if anything's changed."

"No… that's okay. I'm sure he would've let us know if something happened. I heard the way you yelled at him before we left to come up here." I said thinking back and remembering the way the vein in her forehead popped out in combination with the rise in Santana's blood pressure as she told the Detective not so gently that he better fuckin' call if Puck even developed a hang nail. "I think he got your message loud and clear. You were very persuasive. He looked terrified. He'll call if anything happens."

"Yeah, I know he will. He's a good guy." She said glancing away briefly in thought. "He's helped me a lot through this whole process."

"I'm glad he was there for you, but I'm even gladder that I can be here for you now." I said pulling her closer. "I'm glad you told me everything."

"Me too." She said with a smile and leaning forward to give me a peck on the lips. "But I don't really want to think about the Police or FBI right now. It gives me a headache."

"Sorry." I said sheepishly, not wanting to add to Santana's list of troubles.

"Don't be sorry. This isn't your fault." She responded, kissing me lightly to let me know she was past talking about this for the moment.

I let Santana take the lead in our kiss since I wasn't one hundred percent sure where this kiss was going or even where I wanted this to go, but when I felt her slide her tongue between my lips and grind her hips into the cup of my own, I knew. 'This is what I want. I'm ready or at least as ready as I'm ever going to be. I love her and she loves me. We're ready for this.'

After pulling away for a short breath of air and summoning all my courage, thinking 'after this there's no going back.' I focused my eyes once again on hers and said with conviction. "I want you Santana."

Immediately she pulled back, eyeing me curiously.

"Are you sure?" She asked probably seeing a slight bit of hesitation still in my eyes.

Looking down since I was finding it hard to think under her intense brown eyed stare, I regrouped before reconnecting my eyes with hers.

"I'm sure." I said noticing a slight nervous break in my voice. 'Darn it,' I said to myself, knowing Santana had heard it as well. "Please Santana…" I said trying to recover after seeing her hesitation. "I'm ready. I want this. I want you."

"I want you too; more than anything," she said pulling me towards her by the small of my back. "But I want you to know there's no rush. We don't have to do this if you're not ready. I want you to be sure."

"I am sure." I said with as much conviction as I could muster. "I'm just a little nervous."

Santana smiled and didn't hesitate further as she took my hand and applied a tender, reassuring kiss to the back of my palm. After her lips left the skin on the back of my hand I felt her pull me up, encouraging me into a kneeling position. I could feel the mattress dip in reaction to the shift in our weight. 'This was it.' I thought as Santana wrapped her arms around my waist and shuffled forward, flush against me. My hands still hung limp at my sides in awe of the moment until I realized that I knew what to do, at least for now. Catching onto my awkward delay and hoping Santana hadn't noticed as well I finally rested my hand on her hip and brought my other hand up to stroke the hair away from her face, tenderly.

"I love you." She said leaning into my touch once we settled into the middle of the bed to stare at each other in amazement.

"I love you too." I said looking at her with equal intensity and giving her my consent to move forward.

It didn't take Santana long after she caught onto my intention to lunge forward and capture my lips in a heated kiss. I responded swiftly and tried to match and keep up with her excited movements, but found if difficult. She moved so purposely and erotically and with so much confidence that I started to get concerned that I wouldn't measure up.

"You okay…" she asked pulling back after noticing that I wasn't really responding after trailing a heated path of nips and pecks down the side of my neck.

I could feel my heart hammering erratically inside of my chest out of fear and excitement. It was making it hard for me to form a coherent thought with all the loud thumping to contend with, but looking into Santana's blazing and beautiful brown eyes I found some confidence and soon found my shaky voice.

"I'm nervous." I said meekly but honestly and dropping myself to sit in the center of the bed. "I just don't really know what I'm supposed to do..."

"It's okay to be nervous," she said lowering herself to sit facing me and looking into my downcast eyes. "Believe it or not, but I'm a little nervous too. I've never been with someone that I've been in love with before."

"You haven't?" I asked as a little hope began to rise.

"Nope." She admitted easily. "You'll be my first."

"I like that." I said taking it in and digesting Santana's admission. "It's almost like we're both each other's firsts."

"I know. It kinda feels that way for me too. And I want you to know, I'd never hurt you so you don't have to be afraid. I love you." She said smiling and shifting forward to kiss me on the tip of my nose.

"It won't hurt?" I asked as Santana tilted my head up to look directly into my eyes. The certainty and honesty I saw reflected within her brown orbs was all I needed to know as I felt a hopeful feeling start to envelop my body and build to a whole new level. 'It'll be okay.' I told myself. And for the first time that day I actually started to believe it.

"I'll be gentle." She said leaning in to kiss me softly.

This kiss wasn't like the last. This kiss wasn't frantic or rushed. This kiss told me _I'll take care of you_ as Santana continued to talk to me, wordlessly with each gentle caress of her tongue or stroke of her hand. Every new action told me something new. _Everything will be alright _she said with her hand as she slowly and deliberately glided her hands over my clothes covered back, reassuring me. With every stroke of her hands up or down my spine I felt my anxiety dissipate further. _I'll take it slow _she said with her tongue as she gently parted my lips to slowly slip her tongue inside to let me acclimate and adjust to the new developments within our relationship. The subtle in and out movement of her tongue helped me gain some confidence and re-established my familiarity with her body. Feeling better about myself and more comfortable with our actions, I reached up into her hair and pulled her closer. Finally, after another few minutes of easy kissing and softly touching she pulled back and looked into my eyes asking, _May I…?_ with her eyesas she played carefully with hem of my T-shirt.

I wordlessly nodded my consent as she slowly, (never moving her eyes away from my own,) raised my shirt over my head.

Once the shirt had been removed, she discarded it somewhere long forgotten and continued to look deeply into my eyes. The weight of her eyes and the tension in the air caused my heart to falter anxiously as I felt it catch for a moment before she broke our eye contact and let her eyes scan down my chest and torso.

"You're beautiful." She said regaining her eye contact with mine. Santana only briefly re-established that eye contact because it wasn't long before she looked away from my eyes and watched as her fingers navigated a path that trailed across the top of my chest, down within the valley of my breast and over the tight muscles of my abdomen and back up again. After coming to rest at the top of her circuit, Santana gently began to lightly finger the top edge of my bra.

She glanced back into my eyes to check for any reservations and I took that opportune pause to reach out and raise Santana's shirt over her head as well. It wasn't as graceful as when she'd done the same to me, but after briefly catching the opening for her head on the bottom of her chin I managed to get it over her head with only a slight little dip of Santana's chin towards her chest.

I'd seen her in this state of undress before, but I'd never actually gotten the chance to touch and explore her body. I think I was too scared at the time, but now with the expanse of skin on display in front of me I couldn't help myself. She looked to good not to touch, so with my heart in my throat I reached out and laid the flat of my palm in between her breast. I could feel the steady beating of her heart against my hand. I wanted to look into her eyes because I could see out of my peripheral vision that she was staring at me, but I was too nervous to look away from my hand as I slowly started to rub up and down the center line of her chest and sternum.

Without me really registering Santana's movement, she carefully reached around her back and unclasped her bra. I was so thoroughly distracted by the soft texture of her skin, I hadn't even noticed until I saw that her bra had become loose and was now hanging carelessly and without support over the top of her breast. I looked up suddenly, a little apprehensive and unsure, but that was before I saw Santana slowly start to pull the tiny straps across her shoulders and down her arms.

'Oh my God' I thought feeling my breath catch once again in my throat as Santana's breasts were revealed to me. 'Beautiful,' I thought staring at her breasts for a moment and wanting desperately to touch them. I could feel the pulses within my hands trembling and begging me to move, but I couldn't. I was stuck. She looked almost too perfect to touch. I was worried that if I reached out and touched her that I would spoil the perfect image in front of me. (Little did I know that I would only make that image all the more alluring if I did.)

Santana must have sensed my trepidation because after I'd sat there for a moment, frozen like an idiot, she finally reached out taking my right hand and placed it over top of her left breast, directing me in my movements.

Her breast was warm and plush as her firm hand guided my movements, but before long I grew bold and no longer needed Santana's hand to top mine and guide me on my discovery. With each careful new grab or subtle new touch I heard an audible sigh or moan slip through Santana's lips. Finally, feeling somewhat confident with the results I'd gotten so far, I gently grazed my thumb across her pert, dusky nipple. Her nipple was already hard, but upon contact with my thumb I felt it grow harder. It might have been my imagination, hindered by my blinding arousal, but that's what it felt like and I took some pride in the knowledge that I could have that effect on her.

While I was still mentally praising myself and stroking her nipple with my thumb I felt Santana reach around my back and to my surprise with only one hand popped the clasp to my bra. I felt the sudden urge to cover my chest, but I resisted the impulse because I could already see Santana leaning forward about to place a kiss over my heart. Her lips were damp as she hummed appreciatively upon contact.

"You're trembling." She said looking up through her thick lashes into my eyes. "Are you okay?"

"U-huh…" I hummed; trying to take in a deep breath as Santana slowly manipulated my breasts and nipples within her hands. She continued to tweak, tease and rub my breasts, causing me to arch my back into her poised and awaiting hands. I wanted more. And just as I was beginning to wonder if there was going to be anything more, I felt Santana replace the work of her skillful hands with that of the work of her even more skillful mouth. What started out as soft breathy pants turned into noticeable groans of pleasure as I wrapped my arms around Santana's neck and held her securely to my chest.

Her lips and tongue were hot as they lavished my breast with attention. I didn't want her to stop and the only way I could think to prevent that from happening was to pull her even closer by the back of her neck, securing her with my hands to my chest. Immediately, she latched on and sucked my nipple firmly between her beautiful plump lips. I couldn't believe how turned on I was. She'd barely touched me, but just watching Santana as she gracefully played with, kissed and licked around my breast I became even more aroused. She was like the biggest turn on in the world. I could only imagine what the rest of the evening held in store for us. Santana must have sensed my eagerness to submerge myself in our new activities because at that very moment she looked up through her thick lashes, with her mouth still securely around my nipple and smiled. She too was excited to find out all the new ways we could express our love for one another.

Backing away from my chest, I groaned in disappointment as Santana pulled away. But before I could hang about too long she tenderly reached around to the small of my back and pulled me down below her so that now I was lying completely on my back with her hovering above me. Slowly, she lowered herself on top of me and captured my lips with hers in a caring, sweet and passionate kiss. I could feel my hands still trembling with anxiety and nerves while grabbing at her back, but that was certainly the lesser of the feelings I was experiencing because definitely the dominant feelings were all connected to my arousal.

Sitting up to straddle my leg and breaking our kiss, Santana grabbed a pillow and tucked it under my head to prop me up comfortably.

"God you are so sexy." She said trailing her fingers up from the outside of my calf to the bottom of my shorts and back down again before picking up my leg at the ankle and placing a tender kiss to the inside, right next to my ankle bone.

After placing my leg back on the bed gently, Santana predatorily, but not intimidatingly crawled back up my body placing scattered kisses and pecks everywhere as she ascended. Not long after placing a few sweet pecks to my stomach she knelt back, sitting on my leg and dipped the tops of her fingers under the waistbands of my shorts and underwear. As she pulled the waistbands back she revealed fresh, never been exposed to another person before skin. Looking briefly back up into my eyes for consent which I gave without really knowing I'd given it, she placed a long slow opened mouth kiss to the exposed skin that had previously been cover by the top edge of my shorts.

"Mmm…" she hummed, shutting her eyes and licking me up with the tip of her tongue from underneath the pulled taunt elastic.

Immediately, I groaned and arched my hips into her anxiously awaiting mouth. I felt dizzy and hot and insanely aroused all at the same time. I no longer felt like I had control over my body. I knew Santana now had that control and at this point I really didn't care. She could do whatever she wanted and I'm sure I would have been fine with whatever she chose. My body felt like it had an electrical current running through my veins and it was making it nearly impossible for me to lay still. Thankfully, after moments of deep open mouthed, sloppy kisses Santana dropped the elastic back into place and moved her hands to my sides to grip at my shorts. Looking briefly back up into my eyes I gave her my most trusting and honest look and without a single word spoken Santana knew of my intentions and carefully began sliding my shorts with my underwear down my legs. She hit a minor speed bump when she couldn't lower them any further thanks to her own body being in the way, but she easily readjusted her position out of the way and continued to pull.

After pulling my ankles through the leg openings she stepped back off the end of the bed and began removing her own shorts and underwear. (A sight that I would recall in the coming years on numerous occasions whenever I paid a visit to the spank bank because it was possibly the sexiest thing I'd ever seen.) 'Possibly,' who was I kidding… It was _definitely_ the sexiest thing I'd ever seen.

With both of us now lying together naked, I felt the nerves in my belly once again begin to rise. Santana must have sensed my alarm because she suddenly stopped the trails of her hands and pulled away from the kisses she was thoughtfully applying to my neck and stared back at me.

"Look at me…" she encouraged once she realized my eyes had drifted away while dipping her head to eye me at eye level. "Just relax. I promise this will feel amazing." She said leaning down to kiss my lips firmly.

Santana's encouraging kisses were just enough to ease my distress and distract me while she lined up her hand at my ready and anxiously awaiting center. She parted my lips with her confident fingers, causing me to hiss upon contact, feeling her fingers gliding easily up and down my wet and arousal coated slit. 'She was right. It did feel amazing,' I thought as she paused to toy with and circle my clit, making me choke out a strangled moan of approval.

"You feel incredible…" Santana breathed out, ducking her head into the crock of my neck, sucking on my collarbone and continuing to explore me with her fingers. As I felt her lips apply gentle suction to my collarbone her fingers worked quickly, mapping my lower region, gliding up and down my wet lips and spreading my arousal to coat the entire area and her hand in my juices. Santana mercifully fingered my clit which resulted in me shutting my eyes tightly and moaning at the new sensations Santana was bringing to life. My legs began to tremble, my heart began to race and I could feel the familiar tightening start to intensify in the pit my stomach. She continued to manipulate my clit and with each new stroke of her talented fingers I felt like I was walking closer and closer to the edge.

"Breathe…" she encouraged as she flicked my clit a few more times before entering me slowly and without warning with two fingers.

She didn't move after sliding into my opening and for that I was grateful because all the pleasure I was experiencing moments ago was now replace by a short, intense pang of pain.

"You okay?" she asked keeping her hand perfectly still, but sliding forward to kiss me on my cheek.

"It hurts a little." I admitted as the sharpness of the initial intrusion started to subside into a duel ache of unfamiliarity. She leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss to my forehead as I took another minute to adjust to the size of Santana's fingers. Her fingers were by no means big, but as she broke through to a place that had been dormant, it still hurt. Soon, after waiting out the pain, my muscles in that region and around the rest of my body began to release and relax and eventually Santana was able to set a slow and steady rhythm to our coupling. She worked her fingers in and out carefully and soon all the pain that I'd experienced moments ago was long gone and replaced by the familiar burns of pleasure.

With each inward pump I felt Santana hit a new and previously undiscovered and sensitive place. At this point I couldn't control my reactions even if I wanted to as I moaned deeply and breathlessly into the sticky, hot and humid August night. Santana eventually, after I'd adjusted to her slower pace started to move in and out of my opening faster and again with each inward pump I cried out and wiggle in unabashed ecstasy. Soon I discovered that even this new elevated pace wasn't enough as I began to search for a deeper form of contact, bucking my hips back up into her arousal covered hand, trying to find the peak of my pleasure.

I was close. I could feel the aching and burning intensifying in my stomach and in between my legs, but when Santana slide over my leg and unexpectedly sat behind her hand to push each thrust of her hand in deeper with her hips, I lost it, cumming in a mind-blowing and blinding orgasm.

"It's okay…" I heard Santana say as my orgasm took over my body and I cried out deep body rattling moans of pleasure. Wave after wave of my orgasm washed through my body, wiping me bare and shaking both of our bodies and bringing us both closer to exhaustion. If not for Santana's body and weight pinning me to the bed I'm sure I would have been swept away in an ocean of rolling shudders and deep penetrating sparks.

I continued to feel aftershock after aftershock as I held onto Santana's waist riding out the final stages of my orgasm. As soon as my trembling began to subside, I heard the heavy breathing coming from the woman above me. She was tired too judging from her labored breathing and shaking arms.

"Come here…" I managed to breathe out between gasps for air, struggling for my own oxygen and pulling Santana by her waist to wrap her tightly in my arms. She adjusted to the position easily, slipping her fingers out from inside me and tucking herself into the warmth of my neck. I could hear her breathing in and out and I could feel her heart thumping unevenly against my own, but before long her deep heavy sighs and racing heart began to even out which thankfully helped me pace my own and soon we were both almost back to a normal cadence.

"Wow…" I said after a heavy sigh that elevated and dropped both of our upper bodies in unison.

"I told you it would be amazing." Santana said rising to look at me with a knowing cocky grin. "I have to say I don't think I ever seen anything more beautiful or felt anything more amazing than I did when you came with my fingers inside you. It was pretty fucking incredible," as she leaned in and kissed me.

"I wanna try it..." I said as I flipped her over and started attacking her neck with short biting kisses.

"Easy killer…" she said with a chuckle. "What if I haven't recovered yet?"

"Well then you better recover quickly…" I said moving my hand down between her legs and nipping sharply at her neck with my teeth. "Because I'm starting whether you're ready or not."

"I could get used to this side of you." She said happily succumbing to my eagerness and deciding to take action by pulling me by my butt cheeks into her equally eager and awaiting hips.

I tried to remember all the things Santana had done to me, but it was all a jumbled haze of breathing, sweating, kissing and moaning. I wanted to look into her eyes and feel her as she came just like she'd done with me, but I was having trouble finding all the places Santana had found without looking at what I was doing.

Pulling back from Santana's neck I sat on my knees and looked down to see my fingers disappearing inside of Santana only to reemerge a second later coated in her arousal. It was pretty 'fricken amazing' to see. 'She looks perfect' I thought scanning her body all the way down to the tips of her toes up to the top of her head and thankfully she was all mine. I no longer had to share her with anyone. That thought alone brought a big toothy smile to my face, but that was before I looked down and started to play eagerly with her clit. This new discovery brought on a whole new level of wonderment and pleasure for me. And from the sounds Santana was making and the amount of times she was agreeing with me, she felt the same.

I knew given how amped I was about pleasing her that there wouldn't be the foreplay that she'd taken her time and given when pleasing me, 'there'd be time for that later.' I was just too excited to see all her different reactions I could elicit each time I found one of Santana's pleasure points.

I worked her clit with my fingers quickly, marveling at the texture of her skin in combination with her arousal. While watching my fingers flick up and down and then side to side I started to wonder why I'd ever been so nervous. 'This wasn't scary, this was incredible,' I thought deciding to move back down and explore her entrance. There was way more fluid in this area than there was before and my fingers disappeared easily as Santana let out a deep moan of approval, sucking my fingers in deeper.

"Wow…" I thought, but actually said out loud as I felt her muscles tighten and then loosen around my fingers.

Santana opened her eyes to look back at me in response and in that moment I could see all the emotions and feeling I felt for her reflected back at me within her eyes; love, devotion, acceptance, they were all right there which made me smile as I pumped into her, working with her to bring her closer to that unbelievable climax I'd felt moments ago.

"Turn your hand over…" she instructed as she bucked her hips up into my steadily pumping fingers.

I did as I was told and now with each thrust I drove into her the butt of my palm slapped against her clit. With the new position of my hand I could actually start doing other things to her like kissing and sucking on her breast. Something I was extremely eager to do ever since getting that first look at her twins, 'as she liked to call them,' awhile ago.

"Mmm…" I hummed, sucking her right nipple between my lips. She moaned in approval, thankful for the new stimulation that brought her hand up into my hair and canted her hips up to meet my pumping fingers. With Santana now fisting my hair I sunk lower, kissing my way across her stomach until I reached her belly button. Her belly button was like a red warning sign saying, '_you are about to cross into unfamiliar territory- turn back now.'_ A part of me wanted to cross that line and continue south past her belly button to taste her with my tongue, but I was honestly terrified. I thought about it for a second, even balked a few times in that direction, but in the end I caved and worked a steady path of kisses back up her stomach, past her breasts to the familiar safety of her neck. 'Maybe, next time,' I thought moving to kiss her firmly on the lips.

"O-Oh God Brittany- I'm so close…" she moaned against my lips, in between pants.

Taking that as my cue to up my game I began pumping faster. My wrist and forearms were starting to stiffen, but I kept going. Watching Santana react the way she was reacting was incredible to witness. Every pump of my wrist caused and equally amazing pant or moan to escape her beautiful parted lips. When I had her writhing against my hand, I let myself trail south along her neck and to her breast to suck her nipple between my lips, biting it softly.

"Ohhh fuck…" Santana cried out in bliss, rocking and trembling against my hand.

I could feel my fingers being squeezed by her inner muscles; I could feel her legs trapping my hand between her powerful thighs, but all I could see was her face. The way it contorted as the pleasure engulfed her was beautiful. She overwhelmed me as I felt her body shudder one final time before collapsing in exhaustion.

Watching Santana come undone the way she had made me feel even closer to her; if that was even possible and I just needed to be next to her. So I slide my fingers out from inside her and crawled up her torso and laid my head on top of her chest. I could hear her heart pounding against my ear as we lay together, heaving and trying to catch our breaths.

"I'm exhausted…" Santana sighed out, contently.

"Me too…" I said with a smile.

"I have a feeling I'll probably be able to sleep now…" She said smiling back at me to let me know she'd meant it as a compliment.

"Me too…" I said again, smiling in response and looking around for the sheet we'd kicked away shortly after we'd gotten started. Upon spotting it at the foot of the bed, I reached down and grabbed it bringing it up over both of our bodies to snuggle in closer.

"Goodnight Santana…" I said draping my leg over hers intertwining them together.

"Hold on…" Santana said causing me to stop my eyes mid-droop. "Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"I feel great." I said sighing into her body. "That was the most incredible thing I've ever been apart of."

"Me too…" she said wrapping her arms around my shoulders and pulling me in closer to place an adorable kiss on my forehead. "Me too…" she said again as we both slowly started to drift off into a peaceful sleep.

TBC…

**AN: *Sigh…* Another chapter down… *Phew* Like Santana and Brittany, I'm exhausted. I can't even manage a proper author's note right now. I had a lot of thoughts on what I was going to include in this chapters closing authors note, but all those thoughts are gone right now. Maybe they will come to me when I've recovered and if they do I'll include them in my beginning authors note next chapter. **

**Hopefully you liked the chapter. (I worked my *beep* off for it.) You have no idea how hard that chapter was for me. I found it extremely difficult to put myself in Brittany's shoes. (Thanks for voting Brittany as the winner in my profile poll btw. ;) I think I was hoping for Santana to come out on top cause I felt more comfortable writing that scene from her POV, but now that's it's done, I'm glad it was from Brittany's POV. Even if it was difficult.) So considering how hard it was for me to write this from Brittany's POV there are a few people that helped me (particularly with the female aspects) that I need to thank. Thanks ladies! :) (You know who you are.) I think I got all the points you told me I needed to include or at least I hope I got them right. Let me know.**

**Anyways… off to recharge. *hint, hint, hint* Long detailed reviews go a long way in accelerating the recharging process. Just sayin… ;)**

**Thanks for reading! Later peeps…**

**Drew**


	22. New Discoveries

**AN: Hi ladies. :) I hope the month plus since my last update has treated everyone well and that everyone is still interested in this story. I know I'm still interested so I hope everyone else is too. Sorry for the delay, but kind of a lot happened in my life since my last update. I went to Japan for a soccer tournament and the week I spent there was awesome, buuuuut… it came to a screeching halt when my newborn son Lucas became impatient and arrived 3 weeks early on April 8th at 11:52am, which happened to be about 2 hours after I landed in the Philadelphia coming back from my tournament early. If weather in Tokyo, Chicago or Philadelphia hadn't cooperated or American Airlines or customs had delays I would have been screwed and I don't think you'd be reading this chapter right now because my wife and/or mother in law probably would have killed me so thankfully none of those things happened and I made it to the hospital on time so now I can happily say that I'm great, my wife is great, Lucas is a sleeping and pooping machine and my other pain in the wallet kids are good as well. ;) We're all just extremely tired and unfortunately the only one that seems to be getting much sleep is Lucas! So beware… this chapter might suck due to sleep deprivation. Sorry ahead of time if it does.**

**Sorry again for the delay, but hey I did have another kid so I hope that affords me a little leeway... :s Maybe I'll change my avatar to a pic of Lucas. Women love cute babies' right? Would his cuteness distract you and keep you from flaming me about my delay again? I hope so; I better update that avatar now in case it sways a few people.**

**Anyway onward… I hope you enjoy this long awaited chapter!**

**Disclaimer: Glee is definitely not mine, hell I haven't even seen the last 4 episodes so the only thing I can presently claim to own is my opinion that is a shared belief with Principal Figgins' that I too would much rather see Santana and Brittany make out than that so called Finchel. (That line was friggin priceless, possibly the truest words ever spoken on television.) LOL**

**Enjoy chapter 22!**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Brittany's POV**

Watching Santana come undone the way she had made me, made me feel even closer to her, if that was even possible and I just needed to be next to her. So I slide my fingers out from inside her and crawled up her torso and laid my head on top of her chest. I could hear her heart pounding unevenly against my ear as we lay together, heaving and trying to catch our breaths.

"I'm exhausted…" Santana breathed out, heavily.

"Me too…" I said with a smile.

"I have a feeling I'll probably be able to sleep now…" She said smiling back at me to let me know she'd meant it as a compliment.

"Me too…" I said again, smiling prideful in response and looking around for the sheet we'd kicked away shortly after our sweet lady kisses had gotten started. Upon spotting the sheet at the foot of the bed, I reached down and grabbed it bringing it up over both of our bodies to snuggle in closer.

"Goodnight Santana…" I said draping my leg over hers intertwining them together.

"Hold on…" Santana quickly interjected which caused me to stop my eyes mid-droop. "Are you okay? How do you feel?"

"I feel great." I said, sighing contently into her body. "That was the most incredible thing I've ever been a part of."

"Me too…" she said wrapping her arms around my shoulders and pulling me in closer to place an adorable kiss on my forehead. "Me too…" she said again as we both slowly started to drift off into a peaceful nights sleep.

**And Now Chapter 22- New Discoveries**

**Brittany's POV**

The next morning after an uninterrupted nights rest, I sighed, stretched and slowly opened my eyes. The light in the strange bedroom wasn't bright, but my eyes still blinked open a few times trying to adjust to the change from evening darkness to daytime light. "Mmm…" I hummed and stretched again as the events that led to the present, (me lying naked in an unfamiliar bed) slowly worked their way back through my still semi asleep mind. 'Uww… my legs are sore,' I thought out of the blue in surprise after stretching a little too forcefully while hearing the soft sounds of a late summer shower hitting the rooftop above of our heads. 'Good day to sleep in.' I thought trying to relax my muscles and laying my right arm lightly over Santana's side, trying not to wake her and scooting in close behind her. 'She looks so cute,' I thought peaking over her shoulder to see a small noticeable up-turn to her beautiful, plump lips. 'I could get used to this,' I thought allowing my head to drop back onto my pillow and burying my face into Santana's dark mop of silky hair.

At some point I must've fallen back asleep because when I awoke for the second time I found myself in bed alone. 'Hmm…' I thought, 'I wonder where she went?' as I rose onto my elbow to look around the empty bedroom. 'Hmm…' I questioned to myself again as I rotated my legs around to the edge of the bed to sit up. It was a little strange waking up naked, but not strange in a bad way just strange in a different, kind of chilly way; still not feeling one hundred percent comfortable walking around the house naked, I got up and walked over to the dresser that held my new clothes and found some shorts that weren't too big and a t-shirt that actually fit and set out to find Santana.

As I walked down the hall, approaching the living room I began to smell the welcome sent of coffee. 'Mmm…' I hummed to myself in approval as my nose led me closer to the kitchen. Upon walking through the kitchen archway I found the two things I was looking for; coffee and a half naked Santana. Santana stood, staring out the back window in the direction of the lake dressed in one of the new flannel shirts that Officer Bieste had gotten for us and a cute pair of cotton underwear that could just barely be seen peaking out from underneath the back flap of the shirt. She appeared deep in thought as she held a mug of hot coffee tightly in both hands just under her nose and she had yet to notice my arrival so I quietly walked up behind her to encircle her waist in a caring hug.

"Good morning…" I said into her neck before placing a small peck just below her ear and pulling her by her midsection towards me.

"Mornin'…" She replied with a smile, relaxing into my arms.

We stood there for a few moments just enjoying the proximity and staring out at the lake that was prickled with millions of water rings from the light free falling summer rain.

"I made coffee if you want some…" Santana said turning around within my arms after placing her coffee cup on the counter and giving me a short peck on the lips.

"Thanks" I said making no attempt to break our embrace. I really wanted a cup of coffee, but if my options were, get a cup of coffee or hold Santana a little bit longer it wasn't a hard decision to make; 'coffee could wait.' At this point I couldn't get enough of Santana now that I had her all to myself and I didn't want to let her go just yet.

"What?" Santana asked smiling up at me after a few moments, probably noticing the big goofy smile that I knew was permanently plastered on my face after catching that first glimpse of Santana, framed by the kitchen window.

"Nothing…" I said as my smile became even more apparent, knowing that I wasn't being entirely honest.

Santana's smile deepened as well as she studied my expression through narrow questioning eyes.

"Someone looks…" she said pausing and cocking her head to the side in thought. "Like the cat that ate the canary…" she decided on.

'What?' I thought quickly looking around the room for any signs of a cat and ready to pounce on it for being a bad cat and eating a poor, small defenseless bird.

"I didn't know we had a cat or a canary…" I questioned, scanning the room almost frantically.

"No…" she giggled, pulling my attention back to her with a gentle, encouraging nudge of her hand on my cheek. "It's just a figure of speech," she explained with a smile, "for when someone looks like they have a secret and they can't seem to hide it in their expression."

"Oh thank God…" I sighed out, relaxing again. "I thought we had a cat and it ate our canary."

"N-no…" she said through a fit of giggles. "We don't have a cat or a canary. I was just insinuating that you," she managed to get out after suppressing her laughter and tapping me on the nose. "Look like someone who's in a good mood this morning, but doesn't want to come right out and say that she had mind blowing sex with a beautiful woman that rocked her world last night."

"Oh, well, yeah there was that…" I stammered, starting to blush.

Why I was blushing I wasn't sure because Santana clearly already knew why I was smiling like a fool and there was no reason for me to be embarrassed. At least I didn't think there was a reason to be embarrassed, although now that I was thinking about it I was starting to reconsider. 'Had I done everything right last night? Was it as good for her as it was for me?'

"It's okay…" Santana soothed with a chuckle and an encouraging peck on my lips, noticing my unease. "I really like that _stride of pride _look you had going a minute ago. I hope to see it more often because I think I love it. It's easily my new favorite look. Although my old favorite look is still pretty cute," she said attempting to demonstrate. "Head tilt to the side, face scrunched up in thought, I'm trying to figure this out look of yours. You're adorable when you do that." She said leaning in to give me another short kiss on the lips.

"You hungry…? I could make breakfast." She said happily moving on and grabbing her cup of coffee to take a sip.

"A little…" I said thinking back to the last time I'd eaten anything substantial and remembering that it had actually been before all the craziness at the club went down. "But actually first, I'm more interested in if you've heard anything new about Puck's condition."

Santana froze for a second probably not expecting the quick change in topic from flirty and playful to somewhat somber and the reflection of that surprise in her body language made my stomach drop to the floor. I could see by the look on her face as she turned around that she was thinking about what to say or how to tell me what she knew and the fact that she wasn't just coming right out and telling me made me think that it couldn't be good news. 'Just tell me the truth,' I pleaded with my eyes which caused her to halfheartedly start walking towards me.

"I got a text from Carl this morning saying there's been no change." She said reaching out with her free hand to grab my hand that was resting on my thigh. "He's still unconscious, but his vitals are good and they seem to be holding steady."

I could tell by the way Santana said the last part and the way she was gripping my hand that she was hoping it would lift my spirits, but unfortunately it didn't. I'd been hoping for some good news this morning, but sadly I realized that it had been wishful thinking to hope that Puck had woken up and was now on his way to making a full recovery.

"Britt, this is good…" Santana said shaking my hand after catching onto my negative body language. "He's made it this far, I'm sure he'll wake up soon."

"I hope so." I said walking over to pour myself a cup of coffee with my shoulders slumped, dejectedly. "I just wish I could be there for him so he'd know how much I love him and so I could know what was going on. I hate the thought of him in the hospital alone."

"I know…" Santana sighed out as well. "Me too, but I'm sure he knows that you're with him in the important ways."

"Maybe…" I said taking a sip of my coffee and watching Santana's brain work through our current problem. She was upset about Puck's condition too, I could tell by the worry lines now creasing her forehead.

"How 'bout…" she said as if it had just struck her. "I make us some breakfast and after we eat I'll call Carl and get more information."

"Okay…" I said knowing that was all I could hope for at least at this point.

We ate together quietly and after we were done Santana called Carl and put him on speaker phone so I could hear him as well. Again, the news wasn't what I was hoping for; nothing had changed just like Santana had said, but we did find out that Puck wasn't in the hospital alone which was a small comfort for me. Apparently Quinn, Finn and Rachel had been there since the paramedics had brought him in and Mercedes, Sam, Artie, Kurt and Kurt's new boyfriend Blaine had all been there on and off for the past two days as well. 'At least he's not alone,' I thought as I heard Carl beginning to trail off starting to end the call.

"Wait…" I said trying to stop the Detective before he hung up the phone. "Detective Howell if you go to the hospital again and my friends are still there do you think it'd be possible for me to talk to one of them. I can't thank you enough for keeping us in the loop about Puck, but I'd really like to talk to one of my friends if that's possible. Let them know that I'm okay and all."

"I think that can be arranged." He said through the speaker. "That blonde girl that's been by Puck's side this whole time has asking about you too. I think she'd like to hear from you as well."

"Thanks!" I said happily, hoping that it wouldn't be too long before the detective went back to the hospital and I could talk to Quinn or anyone for that matter.

"Santana I do need to talk to you about the case for a couple minutes, alone if that's okay…?" He said directing the question as politely as possible at me.

"Sure," I responded quickly knowing I had to go to the bathroom anyway. "I'll leave you two to it. Come get me when you're done." I told Santana gripping her shoulder as I rose up off the couch.

"Thanks Britt." She said as I walked out of the room.

**Santana's POV**

"So what's up?" I asked into the telephone after turning off the speaker and watching Brittany leave the room.

"Have you talked with Agent Sylvester since Sunday night?" he asked with a nervous crack in his voice. The sound confused me and it also made the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Carl wasn't normally the type that got rattled, even if it was Sue Sylvester that was trying to do the rattling.

"No, why?" I asked curiously and grimacing at the thought of having another discussion with Agent Sylvester.

"Well…" he said trailing off at the end which caused my anxiety to rise a little further. 'This unease isn't like him at all.' I thought before he continued. "I'm sure she'll be in touch with you soon."

"Why?" I asked. "Is something wrong?"

"There's just a lot going on with the case right now and I know Agent Sylvester wants to talk to you about a few of the things that have come up."

"What kind of things?" I asked again, starting to get frustrated with Carl's cryptic, half-assed answers. "I've told her everything I know and she has all my files, I don't know that there's anything else I could tell her."

"Maybe…" he said trailing off like he was weighing what he should or shouldn't say next. "But like I said there have been some new developments in the last few hours."

"For fucks sake Carl just tell me what's going on." I asked probably loud enough for Brittany to hear me down the hall.

"Santana…" He paused and sighed. "I'm sorry, I really shouldn't. You should talk to Sue."

"Well I'm not talking to Sue right now, I'm talking to you." I announced. "And you started this conversation… you can't do that and then not tell me. So spill it!"

"Fine, but you didn't hear it from me." He paused before continuing. 'I knew he wanted to tell me,' I thought when I finally broke him down. "We caught Figgins' last night."

"You did! Holy shit! That's great! So does this mean that Brittany and I can go home soon?" I asked, beaming with excitement at the possibility that this nightmare could be starting to come to a close.

"I can't tell you anymore Santana. Sue will have my head if she finds out I told you this much, but I'm not sure things are quite that simple. Don't get your hopes up just yet."

"Carl, they caught Figgins', at least it's progress."

"Still…" He said pausing to make sure I didn't get ahead of myself. "Don't lose focus. Things are a long way from over. So be careful and take care of that girlfriend of yours, she seems like a keeper."

"Oh don't you worry about that… I plan on it." I said smirking and wanting to celebrate the good news with Brittany in the best way I knew how.

"That might have been too much information judging from your tone." He said giggling and making me smirk, knowing he'd caught on to my intentions.

I laughed picturing Carl's gleeful expression. 'He really is a nice guy.' "Thanks Carl and keep in touch."

"Okay," he replied. "Take care."

"Bye" I said ending the call and immediately jumping up excitedly from the sofa to go look for Brittany.

Upon finding her digging in the bottom of the closet under some left over shopping bags, I quickly ran over, grabbed her from behind and flung her onto the bed, landing with a bounce on top of her.

"Whoa," she said with a smile after quickly recovering from my wrestling style toss. "What's gotten into you? Why do you look so happy?"

"I don't know…" I said leaning in to trail soft kisses down the side of Brittany's warm neck. "Maybe it's because I have the most amazing girlfriend in the world and I can't seem to keep my hands off her." The last part I managed to get out after about a minute considering each word had a kiss sandwiched around it on Brittany's face, neck or chest.

"Yeah…" she breathed out as I sucked on her pulse point, feeling her heart rate quicken with each new kiss I applied. "But that's…" she said as she took in a deep breath before releasing the breath she'd been holding in one big heavy pant while I continued to work kisses and licks around her throat. "Not the only…, oh God," she said changing tracks and getting distracted as I sucked on her neck below her chin, bringing that delicate skin between my lips, hoping to leave a mark. The thought of marking Brittany's perfect throat somehow only excited me further. Miraculously she'd chosen to stay with me after everything that I'd put her through and now we could truly be together in every way. She was mine and I was hers, and only hers. It felt good to belong to someone; to belong _with _someone. "Not the only reason…" Brittany tried to get out again, but failed once more when I nibbled and licked around the welt that I could happily see was already starting to form. "Shit…" she interrupted herself again, moaning out between breaths as I continued my assault, now moving south down the front of Brittany's chest.

"What are you trying to say Britt?" I asked with a smile as I reached under the hem of her shirt to graze north towards her breast, hoping to distract her further.

"Umm…?" she questioned herself in thought, having trouble focusing under the exploration of my lips and hands. "I don't remember what I was trying to say. I can't even think straight right now." She said with a quiver in her voice.

'NICE… mission accomplished then...' I announced to myself pulling back victoriously to look into her eyes and seeing the flushed cheeks I'd helped create. "Let's get this off." I said tugging on the hem of her shirt to encourage her to rise up a little so I could remove it for her.

"Mmm…" I said leaning down on top of her after tossing her shirt to the ground to take her nipple between my lips. I played with and flicked the tiny pink nub with my tongue, watching as Brittany leaned back into the pillow with her eyes rolling back into her head. She closed them entirely for a brief moment of pleasurable bliss as I continued to lick and suck her nipple while squeezing both of her breasts gently in my hands. Each taste of her breasts with my lips or touch with my hands caused a whimper, pant or a moan to escape Brittany's beautiful parted lips and I know each sound she made, made my arousal grow in conjunction with her own. She was so responsive and I loved to see all the reactions I could elicit out of her so I continued.

"God I love your body." I whispered into her chest as I started to lay a trail of kisses down the center of her stomach. The closer I moved to her waistband the firmer her abs became. With each new kiss, I felt her abs clench and release as I traveled over them moving lower. Her skin was so soft and warm, and I couldn't tear my lips away as I moved south to my ultimate destination.

Once I reached her waist band I stopped to look into her eyes while reaching down and gentle grabbing and massaging between her legs over top of her shorts.

"How are you feeling? Are you sore from last night?" I asked knowing it was probably a stupid question; of course she was. She'd been a virgin up until last night which meant that she probably felt like she'd ridden a bike without a seat for about a block.

"A little…" she whimpered as I stroked upward with my fingers, applying subtle pressure over her shorts and hoping that it wasn't going to be too painful for her if we got our mack on again.

"Does this hurt?" I asked not wanting to move forward if it was going to hurt her.

"No…" she sighed out as she canted her hips up tentatively as if searching for the same answers I was trying to find on whether or not it would hurt her if I continued with my plan. For a second I thought I was being too selfish. Brittany probably needed time both physically and emotionally to digest what we'd done last night so I stopped my careful strokes and started to pull away. "Wait… please don't stop, it feels good," she stated.

I inwardly chuckled at her plea and easily leaned back down, half on top of her and continued where I left off, rubbing her crotch. 'She's come a long way from that shy, innocent girl, who couldn't talk to me at her party.' I thought with a smile while continuing the movement of my hand and moving back up her body to kiss her fully on the lips. 'Mmm…' I thought to myself but maybe moaned out loud as Brittany's tongue slipped between my lips. The soft smacking sounds of our lips happily moving together could be heard in combination with the rustling of the sheets as I readjusted to her side so I could more easily manipulate her with my hand.

We kissed softly for a few minutes as I continued to play slowly with her pussy over top of her shorts. After a couple minutes I could feel a hint of warmth under my fingers and that was enough to break my teetering composure and desire to take it slow so with a steady hand I grazed up to the top of her shorts and carefully dipped my hand inside her underwear to feel her without any barriers.

She was wet and warm, and she felt just as good as I remembered from last night. The wetness that I found at her entrance easily aided the movement of my fingers up and down her slit. When I just briefly came to the apex of her and hit her clit she jerked up into my fingers. I knew with the way Brittany was moving that I wouldn't be able to keep up this slow build up for much longer so I tried to take in a few steadying breaths to control myself. The couple deep breaths seemed to work, at least for now so with one last breath in and then out I continued sliding my fingers through her folds and kissing along her neck and chest.

"Does that feel good?" I asked into her ear before taking that earlobe into my mouth and nibbling on the lobe gently.

"Ohhh…" she moaned and canted her hips up into my hand. "It feels so good. I want to feel you too."

At her word she started to unbutton the buttons on my shirt. She had a bit of trouble with the first one because it almost seemed like she was too eager to get the shirt removed, but after a few rushed tugs she finally got the button to cooperate and the next few buttons went much easier. Finally after one last tug of war with the last button, that she seemed determined to win, it finally came undone and my shirt quickly joined hers somewhere on the floor.

After Brittany had discarded my shirt I took the opportunity to remove her shorts and underwear. The tight elastic from the bands were giving me a cramp in my forearm as I tried to move up and down her now noticeably swollen lips. She was turned on, that much I could see as I slipped her shorts pasted her ankles, revealing her entire body.

'Mmm…' I thought again, probably not for the last time today as I pulled her right leg over to the other side of my body so that I was now positioned between her beautifully spread legs. 'I want to taste her. I hope she's okay with that.'

"God Brittany…" I said while tugging firmly on her hips to pull her closer towards my own. "You are so beautiful. You should never wear clothes."

She giggled bashfully at the compliment and I smiled lovingly back at her, realizing that that innocent girl from back at the party was still in there somewhere.

"Britt you're sure you're okay for me to be doing this?" I asked kneeling between her bent legs and gently stroking her clit with my thumb.

"I'm sure…" she said grabbing me behind my knees to pull me closer to her from under her legs. "You feel really good." She said as she stroked the back of my thighs upward and then back downward when her own legs blocked her from being able to glide her hands up any higher. The gentle tug of her hands on my thighs caused me to roll my hips into hers and fall forward, catching myself with my hands before I landed fully on top of her. The contact I made with Brittany's center caused her to groan out a moan of approval and that was all the encouragement I needed to get rid of my own underwear so that I could feel her in all the same ways.

Once I had my panties removed I moved back between her legs to lay on top of her, grabbing under her right knee in the process to pull her hips up into mine and kissing her with all the love and want that I felt for her. The feel of her hips flush with my own as we moved together caused me to deepen the kiss in a more frenzied rather than innocent way. Not that I thought that there was a way to hump someone innocently, but I was attempting to do so none the less.

After a few minutes of tongues battling and hips thrusting, I pulled away from her lips to kiss down her jaw, to her neck, over her perfect tits and down past her firm abs to hover over her center. I could smell the scent of Brittany's arousal the closer I got and I wanted nothing more than to be able to taste her for the first time. 'Please be okay with this…' I thought to myself as I came face to face with Brittany's soaking wet folds.

I breathed in deeply, letting the scent of Brittany overwhelm my senses. 'Oh God I need to taste her right now,' I thought as I expelled that deep breath onto Brittany's center. As soon as my breath hit her slick skin I saw her muscles contract in anticipation of what was going to happen next so I reached out with my thumb and traced small circles over her clit.

It almost surprised me as I took in Brittany's expression as I continued to circle her clit. My face was inches away from her most intimate place and yet Brittany showed no signs of bashfulness. 'Maybe that's a good sign,' I thought as I retracted my thumb from her clit and slid two fingers down to her entrance. I thought out entering her here and now but I didn't want to hurt her so I decided that one finger would be best this time. So with careful ease I shifted my right arm over top of her hip so I could still use that hand to play with her clit and I started to slowly penetrate her with my left middle finger. I only eased in to the point where my finger nail disappeared before pausing to use my right hand to stroke her clit.

"Open up and relax for me," I pleaded looking into her eyes to see her reactions.

She groaned and spread her legs a little wider. It wasn't exactly what I meant when I'd asked her to open up for me, but I guess the extra space couldn't hurt.

I tested out to see if I could move into her a little further by rotating my wrist to turn my middle finger over inside of her. She contracted her muscles quickly around my finger, but just as quickly as I felt her muscles contract they released and I was able to slide my finger in up my second knuckle. 'That a girl,' I thought happily, seeing her relax.

I pumped into her a few times, only pulling out a few centimeters before pushing back in two knuckles deep. All the while I watched her for any telling reactions that would let me know that it was okay to continue fingering her the way I was or if it was okay to move in a little deeper. I continued fingering her at a steady, even rhythm, looking for an expression or sign that would let me know it was finally okay to taste her with my mouth. I knew what that expression looked like on most people, but Brittany didn't seem to know what I was thinking so I never got that go ahead from her. 'She really is that innocent,' I thought with a smile, knowing I would have to say something because I didn't just want to lick her fully and surprise the shit out of her if she wasn't ready.

"Oh God Santana, that feels so good,' she moaned as I rotated my finger once again to see if she would open up for me a little further.

She did and I took that opportunity, now that she was relaxed to move in a little deeper, almost as deep as I could and told her- more or less asking for permission, "I want to taste you Britt…"

Her eyes shot open and a small glimmer of panic could be seen in her eyes and I know I felt the relaxation that she'd achieved seconds ago evaporated and clamp down on my finger.

"It's okay Britt, I won't do it if you don't want me to." I told her, wishing that wasn't the case, but knowing if it was that I would just continue what I was doing and that I would be happy with that.

"Are you sure?" she questioned which just about made me scoff at the absurdity of the statement. 'Of course I'm sure. I've wanted to ever since the night of her party when I watched you eat and enjoy that piece of cake so lewdly.'

"Britt," I started to say, trying to sound calm and reassuring. (Something I wasn't normally very good at.) "I want to experience everything with you so yes, I'm sure. I want you in every way."

I was thankful that my finger was still inside her because miraculously I felt her almost immediately start to relax again and I was even able to pump into her very slightly which helped her relax a little more.

"But doesn't it taste bad?" she asked.

Again I almost scoffed, but knew better than to do that.

"Britt, I can already tell that it doesn't" I told her with a smile, trying desperately to avoid leaning forward and licking her right then and there knowing how badly I wanted to and almost felt like I needed to.

The wait for Brittany to respond felt like an eternity although I knew that it wasn't, but after what felt like years she finally spoke. "Okay…"

"Okay?" I questioned back quickly.

"Okay…" she said again causing me to smile broadly.

Not wanting to dive in too quickly and scare her off, I resumed circling her clit with my thumb. 'I knew she liked that.'

Once she started to accept our actions again, (and I knew she was okay because her eyes rolled back into her head and I happily saw her clit twitch with excitement.) I dragged my thumb up higher away from her clit, only an inch to rest just above the small bundle and pulling back that skin just a little to expose the bud more prominently. After seeing her clit completely exposed for the first time I leaned forward with just the tip of my tongue and stroked the small bundle of nerves slowly.

"Mmm…" I hummed again in approval to show her my appreciation of what she was allowing me to do and her taste was also something to moan in approval of now that I'd actually gotten a chance to swallow and taste her fully.

Seeing that she hadn't retracted with the first stroke I did it again only this time using more of my tongue, but still not completely placing the flat of my tongue on her and still only traveling from the underside of her clit and over the top.

"Brittany, you feel and taste amazing." I encouraged. "Are you okay with this?"

"U-hmm…" she whimpered as her lips pursed together tightly.

"Does it feel good?" I asked wondering if her tightly knitted lips were a sign of discomfort or pleasure.

"U-hmm…" she affirmed again and this time she bit her lip, further solidifying that she in fact was enjoying this.

'Thank God,' I thought because after tasting her once I wasn't sure if she'd said that she didn't want to do this that I could go back and never taste her again. That would just have been torture.

After savoring her blessed out expression for a few seconds I leaned forward again, this time kissing her directly over top of her clit. I softened my lips upon contact, molding my open mouth to her and began alternating between gentle strokes of my tongue and deep open mouthed kisses that made smacking sounds against her. She seemed to like both so I kept up that pace, alternating back and forth while slowly starting to pump my middle finger back into her at a matching rhythm.

I slid further down the bed so that now I was lying fully between her strong thighs and kissed her center again. The skin of her legs tickled my sides and brought chill bumps to the surface. It felt amazing to be this close to her. I'd wanted to be with her like this for so long; really since before I even met her, but it was different now. Then, it had been all about sex; just doing a job. Now I could say without reservations that it was about so much more. She meant everything to me and I could easily spend the rest of the day showing her everything I felt for her if she'd let me. It floored me that we'd only been together about a month. It felt like longer. I never dreamt that I would feel so connected to someone in such a short time and I had no illusions as to the reasons. 'This woman is incredible,' I thought as I sucked her clit between my lips causing her to yelp when I released my hold on her skin.

With every new stroke of my tongue, she moaned. With every fick of it, she'd whimper. When I fluttered my tongue continually over her clit, she fisted the sheets and gasped. I wanted to draw out her orgasm, but I could tell that it was building faster than I anticipated so I brought her back down slowly with slow gentle strokes up and then back down with the flat of my tongue.

Once I felt that she'd calmed somewhat I began building her back up with faster more forceful strokes and lavishing kisses that I moaned in appreciation of onto her pussy. I withdrew my finger and traced up and down circuits through her slick folds and then sunk back in with my finger, pumper her in tandem with my mouth.

"Uhn… yes," she moaned as I finally filled her completely. And judging from her tone there was zero pain behind those words which I was grateful for. I loved her and last thing I wanted to do was hurt her.

I could feel my own arousal building as I gripped my legs together, pinning them to the bed. It would have probably only taken a few flicks of my fingers to bring myself to orgasm but I wanted to focus on Brittany. I'd been so methodical in building her orgasm perfectly that I didn't want to waste any touch on myself that I could have been using to bring Brittany pleasure. I could wait, but hopefully not for too long.

"San-tan-a…," she shuddered out as her legs began to tremble. I used my right hand to hold her to the bed, pinning her so that her body couldn't rebel against the feelings that were taking over.

I knew she was close. The way she moved and the sounds she made were a clear indication. So deciding to finally let her fall over the edge I sucked her clit full force between my lips and curled my fingers as I bottomed out into her and she popped almost immediately, flooding my mouth with her sweet release.

I held her down as I milked shudder after shudder out of her; pumping her fast as her orgasm hit and then easing her down with gentle pumps and careful licks as the pulses started to subside. I smiled into her as the last aftershock eased and licked her clean during those next moments while her breathing started to abate.

With one last long lick that turned into two, I reluctantly pulled myself away from her sex and crawled up her body to curl next to her, grabbing her with my free hand that was wasn't supporting me and began to kiss her neck.

"Oh God Santana," she tried to say with a voice that told me breathing was still an issue. "That was…"

"It's okay…" I said laying a gentle silencing finger to her lips after noticing her struggling to find the right words. "I know. It was for me too." I reassured.

"Come here…" she encouraged with a careful pull on my back.

And then she kissed me once I settled half on top of her. It surprised me a little cause I knew that I still had her taste on my mouth and I wasn't sure if she'd wanted to taste herself, but as she kissed me all those thought or doubts disappear because if she had any negative feelings about my taste- well actually her taste, she never let on because she continued kissing me passionately until we both were breathless once again.

"I love you." She said after pulling away.

"I love you too." I replied, with a smile.

We laid there for a couple minutes just staring at each other and tracing imaginary shapes across each other's bodies until I felt the trace of her careful fingers glide lower over my hipbone, still slinking lower until her fingers moved through my still very wet folds and down to my entrance and pulling them back up again to settle over top of my clit, circling it.

"Britt…" tore wantonly from my lips as she set a steady, even pace with her fingers.

She started out tentatively as if trying to remember how to please me, but soon her tentative touches became more confident and within minutes I was close to my release.

_RING, RING, RING_

_RING, RING, RING_

"Fuck…" I said cursing my phone for it's impeccable timing.

Brittany's hand started to slow as she looked towards the phone cautiously.

"Let it ring…" I said throwing my leg over Brittany's and grinded down into her hand to apply a little more force over my clit. I was so close and I'll be damned if I was going to let that phone rob me of my release. Brittany was doubtful, but after a minute of clumsy, torn, doubtful touches she doubled the efforts of her fingers and began fingering my clit at a rapid pace.

"Yes…" I said a few times before finally falling over the edge and riding Brittany's leg and hand to let my orgasm take me where it wished. With each beautiful aftershock that I felt I sunk lower into Brittany's body before finally collapsing on top of her and breathing deeply into her neck.

I found it hard to get my breathing under control, heaving and feeling the rapid racing of my heart pounding against my rib cage. I had to work for that orgasm thanks to that fucking phone call that kind of put a damper on the mood. 'I'm gonna kill whoever that was…' I thought pulling back after a second to let the negative thoughts leave my facial features and looking at Brittany without any trace of negativity.

"You're getting good at this…" I said leaning forward to kiss her sweetly.

"I have a good teacher…" she replied after I pulled back needing oxygen, not fully back to normal yet.

We stared at each other for a minute taking turns applying thoughtful peaks around each others bodies until the phone rang again.

"Damn it!" I said slumping on top of Brittany before getting up angrily to retrieve the still ringing phone. Once I reached the phone I saw that it was Agent Sylvester. I balked for a second to compose my anger and then I slowly picked it up probably just before it went to voice mail.

"Hello…" I said trying to keep my voice even. (I'm not sure it worked.)

"Lopez I called you a few minutes ago where were you?" she asked, seething with anger.

"Oh…" I said pausing, trying to come up with a plausible cover story. "I was in the shower. What's up?"

For the next minute, Sue screamed at me and called me names like Jugs the Clown and Sandbags for not being at her beckon call at all hours, but finally she ran out of insults, at least for now and started to talk to me about the case.

I listened intently for a few minutes and on a few occasions the things she said surprised me, but then, without warning Sue dropped a bomb.

"No fuckin way…" I announced into the phone. "Holly would never do that."

TBC…

**AN: Well there you have it. Chapter 22 in the can…. A little smut, a little fluff and another cliff hanger. Sorry! I'll do my best to get an update out quickly, but it's tough with another little one in the house. Hope you liked the chapter and for those of you who are reading this update quickly after uploading, I will update my avatar with a new pic soon so don't be surprised if you don't see Morgan eating a sub next time you read an update. It's still me. And actually the pic might really be me…**

**Thanks again for all the love. All the reviews last chapter floored me. (Even though there was a fair bit of gender bashing that I had to chuckle at.) LOL… I hope you enjoyed this chapter and hopefully my sleep deprivation didn't hinder it too much. Let me know what you thought. Oh and if anyone looks at my profile and sees that I'm from Japan and knows how to fix that I would appreciate it. 'It's weird that it didn't change back once I got home…' Plus, I haven't been getting any notifications since Japan; story updates, review notifications, nothing. Anyone knows how to fix that too? Thanks ahead of time if you do.**

**And thank you to Sam for beta-ing this chapter and always being supportive even when I probably don't deserve it. Thanks Sam!**

**Take care,**

**Drew**


	23. The Secrets We Keep

**AN: Hi everyone! I gotta say for the first time in writing an authors note I don't really know what to say. It's been forever, I know that, and I'm sorry for that, really, I wish that hadn't been the case, but life (not all my life (my kids and wife are great) but at least my physical health) sucks right now. Let's just say life literally kicked me in the teeth so right now I'm sittin here with my jaw wired shut, 3 temporary false teeth and drinkin a strawberries n cream Ensure drink through a straw. (It fricken sucks! I really want a cheeseburger!) In trying to make light of the situation which is kinda how I'm dealing with this whole thing I'll just say that at school in a student vs. staff charity basketball game someone thought it would be a good idea for me to suck face with the floor and let me tell you… horrible kisser! That lip lock f-in hurt because all the sudden I noticed 3 little white chicklets lyin on the floor and I also found out later that I'd broken my jaw so thus here I am. I've had 3 surgeries already and 1 very big one to go, but I'm hangin in there or at least I'm trying. I guess it's one way to lose weight. I'm starting to look like a heavyweight fighter who had to make weight as a featherweight. My ribs are poppin out, but I gotta say I've never had better abs in my life. **

**Anyway, enough moping around… I'm finally back with a new update and glad to be back so I hope you all enjoy it. It looks like we are entering the home stretch of this story so only a few chapters to go. **

**Enjoy chapter 23!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own glee, but if I did I bet I would have a killer dental plan and wouldn't have to go through workermens comp. They really suck btw.**

**AN2: Oh, sorry I forgot… I also added a little more to the _previously on… _part. I thought it might help some of you remember where we left off without having to go back to read the previous chapter. Hope it helps! And lastly, thank you everyone for your kind words, encouragement and so on an on and thanks to those of you who let me know that fanfic is being plundered by an evil eraser person set on removing some people's stories. Hopefully that doesn't happen but if it does I will post on livejournal. My penname on there is Drew55 as well. I never use it, but if the worst happens and I get deleted I guess I'll have to learn. **

**Happy reading!**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Santana's POV**

I found it hard to get my breathing under control, heaving and feeling the rapid racing of my heart pounding against my rib cage. I had to work for that orgasm thanks to that fucking phone call that kinda put a damper on the mood. 'I'm gonna kill whoever that was…' I thought pulling back after a second to allow the negative thoughts to leave my facial features and to look at Brittany without a trace of negativity. There was certainly no negativity directed at her. 'She's amazing,' I thought looking at her with all the love, want and appreciation that I had to offer, but still even with all that greatness staring back up at me I still couldn't help myself from thinking. 'Damn that fucking phone call. No me gusta.'

"You know…" I said shaking the negative thoughts and leaning forward to kiss Brittany sweetly on the lips after looking into her eyes for a moment to appreciate all the trust and love I could see she was bestowing upon me. "You're getting really good at that."

"I have a good teacher…" she replied, pulling back and giving me a cute, innocent looking smile.

We stared at each other for a minute taking turns applying thoughtful peaks around each others bodies until my phone rang again.

"Fuckin hell!" I said slumping dramatically on top of Brittany chest before getting up angrily to retrieve my still ringing phone. Once I reached the phone I saw that it was Agent Sylvester. I balked for a second feeling a mixture of anger and trepidation rooting me to the floor. Slowly, after I stared at the phone for a couple seconds I reached for the table and picked up the phone probably just before it went to voice mail.

"Hello…" I said trying to keep my voice even, but knowing once the word left my lips that I'd failed hearing the shaky rattle of the word travel through the room to mine, Brittany's and unfortunately Agent Sylvester's ears.

"Lopez, I called you a few minutes ago, where the hell were you?" she asked, seething with anger.

"Oh…" I said pausing to compose myself and trying to come up with a plausible cover story since the truth was obviously not an option, although it was tempting with just the mere thought of what Agent Sylvester's face would look like if her head exploded had I told her that I was too busy riding my girlfriends hand to pick up the phone. She sounded pissed enough without throwing that into the mix so I thought better of it for now. It would have to be just a happy mental image that I would recall whenever I needed a little pick me up, 'anyways' I thought moving back to the question at hand. "I was in the shower. What's so important that I can't even take a couple minutes to take a shower?"

For a few minutes, Sue screamed at me and called me names like Jugs the Clown and Sandbags, in addition to a few other unflattering names that weren't worth repeating. "Do you not understand how huge this case is and how much is riding on it?" she asked as I rolled my eyes hearing her ramble on incoherently about its importance.

Of course I understood. I didn't need her to explain that. I probably understood better than anyone. My entire life depended on how this whole thing turned out. 'No one wants it to get worked out and finished quicker than I did.'

I tried to listen to her tell me the same things she'd been telling me for the last several months over and over again and thankfully on occasion she did throw in some new information that I actually did have to think about, but then, without warning Sue said the unthinkable.

"No fuckin way!" I announced into the phone. "Holly would never do that."

**And Now Chapter 23- The Secrets We Keep**

**Santana's POV**

"You've _got_ to be mistaken." I said knowing full well that the Holly Holiday I knew couldn't possibly have done the things that Sue was saying she'd done. 'It couldn't possibly be true.' "I know Holly. She's a good person. She can't be involved in this, not like this..." I said trailing off, my mind spinning in a million different directions trying to process what Sue Sylvester's words actually meant. "Holly's just an escort. She has a family for Christ sake. She's not…"

"Well yesterday I probably would have agreed with you." Sue announced, interrupting me and causing me to leave the rest of my thought on Holly's true involvement unfinished. "But, Figgins' hasn't shut up since we brought him in last night. It's kind of disturbing how easily a man with his kind of perceived power broke. He's been the ultimate nark. Once he realized there was nothing else he could do, he told us everything and so far everything he's told us has checked out. He's like a 6 year old boy tattling about information he read in his sister's diary. It's pretty pathetic."

I shook my head and rolled my eyes. It wasn't surprising to hear about Figgins' actions. 'Of course Figgins' was a pussy. It didn't take a psychic to see that underneath the false bravado that his bodyguards helped him achieve that he was a coward under it all. But this stuff about Holly couldn't be right; this is just plain crazy! There has to be another explanation. He has to be making shit up in an attempt to save himself.'

"So what you're telling me…" I said pausing to release a shaky breath of air that I felt rattle all the way down into my toes. "Is that my friend… Holly Holiday… is the real leader behind the organization? That she's behind every murder, behind every drug deal and every other horrible thing that's been done to me and anyone else that's gotten in her way. You're telling me that she even tried to have me killed? " I asked, shaking my head and willing my emotions that were rising and churning just under the surface at the mere thought that what I was saying could be true to remain at a controllable level. "Cause I don't believe it! He's a fucking liar! He'd say anything to save himself."

"Maybe…" Agent Sylvester said trailing off calmly as if she was really saying _maybe not_ in her tone, "but as of right now we can't rule out what he's saying. Every traceable lead he's given us has proven to be the truth and Holly isn't talking so..."

"Wait…" I interrupted her before she could say anything more. "You arrested her? You have her in custody?"

"We brought her in last night for questioning, but no we haven't arrested her yet. We don't have the proof we need to actually arrest her and Figgins' word isn't remotely credible enough to get a warrant. We can hold her for 24 hours. After that we're gonna have to let her go if we can't find anything substantial."

'Fuckin hell…' I said to myself, sighing out a deep breath and clenching and releasing my fist in an effort to ease my shaky nerves. 'This can't be happening,' I thought shaking out my arm when balling my hands into fists didn't help. 'If Holly Holiday is the real criminal mastermind behind everything it would be really bad, so much so I could hardly fathom the repercussions. She knows everything about me, everything about my life, my habits, even about Brittany. God I hope this isn't true cause if it is...'

"It's clear that if Ms. Holiday is behind everything that she's covered her tracks well." Sue said saving me from the rest of my frightening thoughts. "Figgins' doesn't have anything that could tie her to the organization other than a few escort jobs which is hardly even worth arresting her for."

"A few escort jobs…" I said squinting and starting to wonder. "She worked almost everyday according to everything I know and the records I've seen. What's she been doing when she's supposedly been with clients?"

"That's what we're trying to find out…" Sue countered as Brittany tentatively approached me from behind laying a comforting hand on the small of my back. Her touch told me she was worried and her eyes begged me to tell her that everything was okay, but unfortunately that wasn't something I could say right now so I looked away to disguise my uncertainty. "I'm sending a messenger over with copies of all your files. Look over them. See if you can find anything we might have missed. After all you do know this case better than anyone." Sue finally said. It's funny, if I didn't know Sue Sylvester the way I did I would have thought she was paying me a compliment. (The key word being 'thought…') Because unfortunately I did know better than to believe that, so at her words, I internally roll my eyes because really, she was just pointing out in her own Sue Sylvester kinda way that I was just a paid slut who happened to have valuable knowledge that no one else had.

"Okay…" I said turning to Brittany who was still staring at me with wide eyes and worry lining her brow. "I'll let you know if I find anything."

"You'll have the files in a few hours." She said disconnecting the call without another word spoken. 'Bitch,' I thought pushing the end button after the agent's abrupt non-goodbye hang-up.

"What's going on?" Brittany asked stroking her hand up and down my back as I put the phone back down on the table. Under different circumstance her touch would have been soothing, but after everything I just heard, I wasn't sure if I'd ever feel relaxed ever again.

"They caught Figgins'…" I told her without a thought as I started to walk away to stare aimlessly out the back window.

'Could it be true?' I asked myself, deep in thought as I reached the window and wrapped my arms around my chest, feeling the need to protect myself. 'Could Holly really be behind everything? Could everything I knew about her have been a lie? She was at Figgins's bar an awful lot and she never really explained why or had a good reason to be there. Could I really have missed the signs that pointed to her deeper involvement? Were there signs? Was she that good an actress that I could have missed them? Was she playing me and everyone else from the very beginning? Was she ever even my friend?'

The fact that I was still completely naked never even entered my mind until I felt Brittany wrap me from behind in a sheet, rubbing my arms for warmth. I could feel myself shutting down and pulling away from her. I didn't even want Brittany to touch me right now as I stood there completely exposed and utterly vulnerable. 'How could I have been so stupid?' I thought pulling my arms tighter around my body and taking a step forward to gain some much needed space.

"Talk to me Santana…" Brittany pleaded after a moment of heavy, clock ticking silence. I briefly broke my staring contest with the horizon, blinking a few times to gain my bearings. 'She sounds so far away and lost' I thought willing myself not to retreat back into my old solitary habits. "Please don't pull away from me."

My chest painfully tightened and my breathing became shallow. Hearing Brittany verbalizing exactly what I was doing and exactly what I was afraid I was doing nearly broke me. I wanted to turn around that instance and bury my face in the warmth of Brittany's neck, taking comfort in her and proving to her that we were in this together, but old habits die hard and I was too proud to admit that I wanted or needed help so I stayed rooted where I was, staring blankly out the back window. Brittany sighed at my non-reaction and I felt like her deep intake of breath sucked all the air out of the room. I was blowing it and I couldn't seem to get out of my own way long enough to stop it.

I'm not sure how long we stood there. It could have been minutes or hours or days for all I know. Time seemed to stop the moment I ended that call. The moment I figured out that what Agent Sylvester was saying about Holly was probably true. 'What did this mean for the case? Did this mean all the work I'd put in over the last year had been for nothing? That it had been a waste of time? That we were back to square one? That I'd risked my life for nothing? What did this mean for everyone else; for my friends? Were Tina and Lauren, and Sunshine okay? Were they at risk now too? What did it mean for me? Did this mean I was going to be looking over my shoulder waiting for someone to find me and put a bullet in my head for the rest of my life? And what about Brittany? Would she be willing to live this kind of life without any ending in sight? Did I even want her to have to live this kinda life if she didn't have to?'

"Santana…" I heard Brittany say in that soft, innocent, sugary sweet voice that when spoken always pulled at my heart strings and probably always would. The sound of that nervous voice effectively popped my thought filled bubble and brought me back to reality. "You're not alone. I just want you to know that. You don't have to say anything. Just know that I'm here and I'm not going anywhere. I'll be here when you want to talk or if you want to talk about anything."

And with that I heard the floorboards creak and the tentative padding of bare feet moving against the hardwood floor and her shuffling around the room gathering her clothes. I stayed where I was, unmoving with my back to her and my arms wrapped protectively around my chest. I could feel the tears brimming at my eyes about to spill over knowing that she meant every word, but there was also a part of me that knew that she didn't fully understand what she was actually saying. She didn't know what those words would require of her now that there was no longer an end to this witness protection style life in sight. 'She doesn't deserve this, you know that…' I told myself. The voice in my head was the voice that always told me that I wasn't good enough for her, but it was also the part of me that didn't want to put her through all this danger and seclusion if she could live a full, happy and safe life without me. 'She deserves a real life, something more than what I can offer her now. She deserves to be happy. She deserves a real partner who isn't selfish and who will puts her needs first. Someone who can be the open and honest person she deserves and someone who won't hurt her in anyway. What am I doing?' I thought dropping my head into my hands and trying not to break down fully.

The sounds in the room had stopped and I wasn't sure if she'd left the room or if she was still standing behind me quietly. I picked my head up out of my hands and took a deep breath before I turned around to see the empty bedroom. I sighed… I was somewhat relieved that she hadn't seen me acting so weak and broken.

'You know what you have to do…' I heard that voice in my head speaking again. 'What are you waiting for?'

I pinched the bridge of my nose and shut my eyes as tight as I could, trying to shut out that voice. But it was useless. I knew I couldn't shut out that voice; it was my voice after all and it did have a point; albeit one that I really didn't want to listen too. 'Brittany is too good for this lifestyle.' I knew what I had to do and I had to do it for Brittany because it certainly wasn't going to be for me. She did deserve more than this lifestyle it was just a matter of summoning my courage and suppressing my own selfish need to have her with me enough to do what needed to be done.

As I sat down on the edge of the bed I felt my whole body start to shake knowing what I was about to do. My phone on the bedside table seemed to be taunting me because every time I even glanced in its direction a fresh set of tears would pool in my eyes forcing me to look away and wipe my eyes before the tears spilled over completely.

'You're doing what's best for her.' I told myself as I reached for the phone to make the call that would change both of our lives forever.

**Brittany's POV**

It had been hours and still Santana hadn't emerged from the bedroom nor spoken a word to me since that phone call. I couldn't even count anymore the amount of times I'd gotten up and started to walk towards the bedroom in the hopes of talking to her, to comfort her, and ease all her worries, but each time I approached the door I stopped. I knew Santana needed time to process what was going on inside her head and I also knew that from experience, I couldn't rush her or else she might never tell me, but that didn't stop me from wanting desperately with all my heart to run in there, sweep her up into my arms and make everything okay for her.

'No… I couldn't do that… could I?' I thought standing up once again and staring at the clock and realizing that only ten minutes had passed since the last time I started and stopped a walk to the bedroom.

'Just be patient, she'll come to you when she ready.' I told myself, sitting back down and turning to face the television that was playing an old re-run of the Wonder Years.

I watched the television show that normally captivated me, but this time I was only half paying attention to the struggles and the ongoing cute dynamic of young Kevin Arnold and Winnie Cooper's will they won't they relationship. Frankly, I could have been watching an ongoing loop of the annoying beeping of the emergency broadcasting system test and I probably still would have been sitting there just as vacantly staring at the screen.

"Hey…" Santana said causing me to practically get whip lash when I turned around quicker than I would have thought possible. I started to get up from the couch to move towards her until I saw that Santana was dragging a suitcase behind her.

Looking ominously at the suitcase and then back to Santana who had an unreadable void of all emotion look on her face, I froze. "Are we going somewhere?" I asked nervously.

She dropped the handle of the case and stood there for a moment like she was thinking about what to say and I took that opportunity to get up and walk towards her, taking her hands into mine when I reached her.

"Where are we going?" I asked again, stroking the backs of her palms with my thumbs and dipping my head to try to make eye contact with her.

After a long un-nerving pause Santana looked at me. I looked into her eyes questioning them, but I couldn't help but think that even with our eyes connected and her cold hands starting to warm in mine it didn't seem like she was actually seeing me.

"Santana…" I pleaded again, hoping for some type of response. She was really starting to scare me with this silent treatment.

"Brittany…" she finally said which caused me to smile. And I probably would have kept smiling if she hadn't dropped my hands when she said my name. That lose of contact felt like she was slipping away even though I could obviously still see her standing right in front of me. "_We…_ aren't going anywhere. You are…"

"What?" I questioned at the absurdity of her remark.

"Carl will be here in a few minutes to pick you up and he's gonna take you to the hospital to see Puck and then he's gonna take you home." Santana said without a trace of emotion almost like she was asking me to pass her the salt. 'What was she doing? This didn't make sense. Was she sending me away? Did she not want to be with me anymore? Did I do something wrong? What was she trying to do?'

"I don't understand…" I questioned back, trying to remain calm which wasn't easy given the swirling questions in my head. 'Did she not want me around?'

"Brittany you can't say here anymore. Too much has changed," she said evenly.

'Oh my God,' I thought taking a step back, realizing what was happening and feeling the cold chill of Santana's brutal rejection. 'She doesn't want me around. Maybe I was just a job to her all along,' I thought feeling the tears starting to build and glossing over my eyes, making it difficult to see. My heart in that moment felt like it had dropped out of my chest and shattered into a million pieces on the floor. 'She doesn't love me. You're so stupid Brittany Pierce. How could you have ever believed that someone like her could have ever loved someone like you?'

"You're going back to your life Brittany. You should be happy about this." Santana said taking a step forward, invading my personal space and then just as quickly taking the same step back when I looked back up at her through my teary eyes. "You can go be with Puck in the hospital. You can assure your friends that you're okay and you can go back to a job that you love; you can go back to your life Brittany. You don't have to be here."

"Wait a minute…" I said hearing a tone and words that didn't seem to fit with the rest of our current detached discussion. "I don't _have_ _to _be here? What does that mean?"

"It means you don't belong here Brittany. Your life is back in the city. You should go back to it."

"But what about you? You're a part of my life…" I said sensing that there was now more to this discussion than what she was letting on. "You're probably the biggest part of my life now. What if I don't want to leave?"

"Brittany you gotta leave, it's for the best." She said trying to be emphatic and brave so she could force me out the door and out of her life, but in the end all it did was sound broken and beaten down and in that moment I knew it wasn't what she wanted, in fact it was the opposite… 'She does love me.'

"Well that's too bad because I'm not leaving you." I said closing the distance between us after suppressing a sniffle and stand unflinching in front of her.

"Brittany please…" she said trying to take a step back.

I mirrored her step back by taking another step forward to stand unmoving in front of her again. I could see clearly now that this was hard for her. Her composure was starting to show cracks. I'm not sure how I ever missed the signs in the first place; this clearly isn't what she wants. Her eyes were shifting nervously all over the place like she couldn't bear to look at me because she knew that I was seeing through her lack of emotion. Her teeth were clenched to the point that it looked almost painfully like she was trying to maintain what little control she still had and I could even see a small tremble starting to emotionally shake her chin like she was fighting the urge not to cry.

"You don't get to send me away." I told her cupping the back of her neck with my hand so she couldn't back away again. "This is my problem too."

"Brittany you don't get it." She said with a huff and trying to glance away which I wouldn't allow.

"No _you_ obviously don't get it…" I said holding her firm by her cheeks and waiting for her to meet my eyes with her own that were starting to fill with tears. "I love you and I know you love me too. You can't push me away. I won't let you!"

"Brittany please…" she pleaded as two giant tears slide down her cheeks. "Don't be stubborn, this is for your own good."

"You're what's good for me!" I said with more conviction than anything I'd ever said to her before. "I'm not going back to the city and I'm certainly not going back to my life before you. It's just not happening so you can go right back in there and unpack that suitcase right now cause I'm not going anywhere unless it's with you."

"God Brittany why can't you just make this easy?" she said as a short sob shook her tiny frame. She was halfheartedly crying now, but I could see a small smile turning the corner of her lips up.

"Nope, I can't do that when you're trying to shove me out the door." I said smiling back and gripping her around her waist. "You can't get rid of me… ever, you got that… you're stuck with me."

And with that she lost it falling into my chest and letting the sobs that were attacking her wrack through her whole body. It was heartbreaking to see and feel her shaking uncontrollably, but it was comforting to know that this conversation was done and decided. We were in this together, no matter what. She now knew that she couldn't push me away like she could probably do with others and I realized that I couldn't live without her. Not that I didn't already have a clue to that part, but this conversation made it all the more glaring that our happiness was pretty closely tied together.

"So you wanna tell me what's going on now…" I said once her whimpering had controlled to occasional deep heavy sighs.

"My friend Holly is a lying, two faced, cunt who might be a lying, two faced, murderer so no I don't really want to talk about it yet…" she said exhaustedly sighing again into my chest. "I just want you to hold me right now, but I promise I'll tell you soon."

"Okay…" I said knowing that was her way of compromising and that she was in fact being truthful when she said she would tell me. "I can wait for you, but please don't ever try to push me away like that again. I don't think I could handle it."

"Don't worry I don't think I could handle it either." She said scoffing. "I don't think I handled it very well this time frankly. It would have killed me to not have you here with me, but please know that I really was trying to do what I thought was best for you."

"You're what's best for me and I don't ever want you to forget it." I told her sincerely.

"You might have to remind me on a few occasions especially if things get as hard as I think there going to be." She said finally raising her eyes to look at me. She looked so fragile in that moment and all I wanted to do was protect her and reassure her that nothing could ever change the way I felt about her.

"Deal!" I told her before leaning in and giving her a quick kiss. "I can remind you everyday if you need me to."

"Thanks…" she said burying her face back into my neck and holding onto my waist as tightly as her little arms would allow. "I think we both might need a few reminders to get us through the coming months."

"Months?" I barked abruptly. "What exactly do you see happening that's going to take months?"

"A lot… and you never know what life is gonna throw at you…"

TBC…

**AN: You _do _never know what life's gonna throw at you. Look at me. Never mind, don't look at me it ain't pretty. **

**Anyway, there you have it… chapter 23- checked off. What'd you think? Let me know. I wanna chat especially since written words are pretty much the only way I can communicate right now so I'm excited to see what you guys think about Santana's attempt at being a martyr and Holly Holiday's possible life of crime. **

**The way I see it and depending how everything scripts out there are about 3 chapters left, give or take; 1 or 2. See, I told you I would finish this story. Don't even lie I know you were doubting me after another extended hiatus. It's okay I forgive you, I would have been doubting me too if I were you. **

**See you next time and again thank you Lacksubstance for betaing this.**

**Drew**


	24. Bidding Time

**AN: Well hello again… I'm back quickly this time. :) I'm excited and also a little sad to be nearing the end of this story. I'm sure I'm gonna miss this story and my version of these characters when it's finished. Although, I'm really looking forward to finding some new stories and new plot lines to dig into so if anyone has any ideas let me know. I already have my eye on one that I think you ladies might be interested in, but I know I'm not gonna start anything new until this is finished so I'll wait until we get a little closer to the end to tell you about it in case anyone wants to alert it.**

**I hope you enjoy chapter 25! It's hard to believe it's been 25 chapters and almost a year long process. Crazy! Thanks for all the support as usual and throughout this story. Just to let you know since so many wonderful people asked… My jaw is getting better each day and I'm counting down the days till I get released from my bonds. 12 days to go… :D AMEN!**

**Disclaimer: Glee… oh how I wish you were mine because if you were oh the things I would have planned for you in season 4, but alas you're not mine so I guess we're all gonna have to suffer through way too many unrequited love songs that the distance particularly in Finchel's case (UGG!) will demand. I can see it now, I'm gonna wanna rip my eyeballs out with a melon baller. I hope Brittana fairs better, although I'm skeptical. At least there's always fanfic. :)**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Brittany's POV**

"So you wanna tell me what's going on now…" I asked once her whimpering had controlled to an occasional deep heavy sigh.

"My friend Holly is a lying, two faced, cunt who might be a lying, two faced, murderer so no I don't really want to talk about it just yet… I honestly don't understand it enough to talk about it yet. " she said exhaustedly sighing again into my chest. "I just want you to hold me right now. I promise you I'll tell you soon."

"Okay…" I said knowing that was her way of compromising and that she was in fact being truthful when she said she would tell me. Sensing how vulnerable this whole situation had made Santana and coupling that with the fact that she was finally allowing me to comfort her, I pulled her in even closer. I took pride in the knowledge that this was of some consolation to her. I had the feeling that there probably weren't too many people in Santana's life that could ever offer her this kind of support. "I can wait for you, but please don't ever try to push me away like that again. I don't think I could handle it."

"Don't worry…" she said scoffing a chuckle. "I don't think I could handle it either. I don't think I handled it very well this time frankly. It would have killed me to not have you here with me, but please know that I really was trying to do what I thought was best for you." She said as if she needed to clarify that last fact a little bit more.

"You're what's best for me and I don't ever want you to forget it." I told her sincerely as I gave her another little squeeze for emphasis.

"You might have to remind me on a few occasions especially if things get as hard as I think there going to be." She said finally raising her eyes to look at me. She looked so fragile in that moment and all I wanted to do was protect her and reassure her that nothing could ever change the way I felt about her since she still seemed so reluctant to believe it. I needed her to know that I was in this for the long haul and that I wasn't going anywhere no matter what happened.

"Deal!" I told her before leaning in and giving her a quick kiss. "I can remind you everyday if you need me to."

"Thanks…" she said burying her face back into my neck and holding onto my waist as tightly as her little arms would allow. "I think we both might need a few reminders to get us through the coming months."

"Months?" I barked abruptly, pulling back to look at her strangely. "What exactly do you see happening that's going to take months?"

"You never know…" she said looking back into my eyes with an unsure look on her face. The look passed just as quickly as it appeared and she comfortably dropped her head back onto my shoulder in an attempt to deflect the weight behind those three simple words that held so much uncertainty. "It's not going to be easy for us here and who knows what life has in store for us…"

**And now chapter 24- Bidding Time**

**Brittany's POV**

The next morning I woke up for the second day in a row to a cold empty bed. I looked around the bedroom to check for any signs of Santana and when I saw none I instantly felt panicked. 'What if she decided to leave me instead?' I thought throwing the sheet off my body and getting out of bed as quickly as I could. The sudden movement was so abrupt and rushed that when I got to my feet I wobbled for a few seconds, getting a head rush.

'Whoa…' I thought clutching the bedside table to steady myself.

After a couple seconds the dizziness faded and I quickly walked out of the bedroom. I continued down the hall, glancing into the dark empty bathroom when I passed it and scanning every which way and in every hidden corner as I moved through the house. Without seeing any sign of her with every step I took, I felt like I was actually getting further and further away from my goal and I felt half sick to my stomach as I trudged onward. 'Please dear God don't let her have left me here alone.' I thought as I scanned the empty TV room as panic was starting to set in.

The house felt eerily quiet and my heart began to race faster and faster the further into the house I moved. I entered the kitchen and still nothing. I felt my heart drop thinking that this is where I would most likely find her considering this is where I'd found her the day before but, 'wait…' I thought as my eyes landed on a half full pot of coffee. 'Was that left over from yesterday or was that new?' I asked myself seeing my first glimmer of hope at the possibility that I wasn't alone in the house.

I practically sprinted to the coffee maker to feel if it was warm. It was… 'thank God!' I sighed, feeling like I could finally take in a breath of air. After one last deep heavy sigh, I left the kitchen, still a little worried since I hadn't seen her yet, but not nearly as worried as I was a moment ago. 'She's gotta be here somewhere.' I told myself.

I proceeded downstairs and found the workout room empty too. 'Crap!' I thought running back up the steps taking them two at a time in my haste. I was only halfway up the steps when I heard the front door close and the clicking of flip flops hitting the floorboards in its wake.

"There you are…" I said announcing myself and causing her to turn around quickly, eyeing me curiously. I collided with Santana after taking huge bounding steps toward her, causing her to stumble backwards a few steps in an effort to steady us both. After she regained her balance I began to pepper her face all over with kisses. I was just so relieved that she hadn't left and that she was still here. I could hardly contain myself as I poured all that relief into those short biting pecks.

"Whoa, what's gotten into you? Are you okay?" she asked after I'd wrapped my arms tightly around her neck and finished with my wood pecker style kisses.

After a couple more seconds of squeezing the crap out of her I withdrew my arms and looked at her. I hadn't even realized that my eyes had started to water and glass over until I connected my eyes with hers. "I thought you left me." I said sheepishly.

"Britt…" she said with awe as she reached out to wipe an uncooperative tear that refused to be ignored as it slid down my face. "I'm so sorry." She continued with a frown as she reached down to take my hands. "I just had to talk to Officer Bieste about a few things. I'm not gonna leave you. I could never leave you, remember? I told you yesterday."

"You promise?" I asked needing a little more reassurance then just a simple declaration after what had happened and her attempt to push me away.

"I promise!" She replied, leaning forward to give me a quick kiss. "I told you I won't ever try to do that again."

I sighed again before starting to kick myself for my rash thinking. I guess I did jump to a little bit of a conclusion there, but it was hard to feel completely comfortable in my relationship with Santana, especially after what she tried to do yesterday. She did end up telling me all about what she'd learned in her phone conversation with _The She Devil_ as Santana liked to call the agent assigned to this case, but it always seemed like Santana's first instinct was to run away from hard feelings instead of talking to me about them and dealing with them together. But even still, she was trying… I knew that much and I guess I had to be okay with that at least for now.

"I'm sorry," I said feeling the need to apologize especially given how sincere and truly sorry Santana looked. "It's just when I woke up alone… And then I couldn't find you… I just thought…"

"Hey," she said getting my attention just as I was about to start nervously rambling. "I'm here. You can't get rid of me. You're stuck with me." She said smiling and repeating my words from yesterday, making me chuckle a little at the sentiment.

"I just thought…"

"No more over thinking…" she said silencing my lips with her finger. "We both are doing too much of that as it is, which I know is my fault." She said sighing and dropping her eyes briefly to the floor. "But I told you I'm not going to leave you and I'm not going to try to push you away anymore either. I know I have to do better about talking to you about things and I'm going to do better, but you have to believe that I'm going to talk to you about the big things and not just assume I'm not or think I decided to do something without talking to you first. I'm done doing that. I trust you and I honestly do feel like I can tell you anything. Do you believe me that I'm going to do better? Do you trust me?"

"Yes, I trust you. I'm sorry I didn't just now. I'll trust in us next time."

"Good" she said leaning forward and tilting her chin up to meet me halfway in a kiss.

Her lips were reassuring and confident. There was only so much comfort words could give in certain situation. I'd always felt that actions spoke more clearly which is probably why I always found dancing so easy to interpret and words so confusing. _I love you and I don't want to be alone anymore_ is what Santana's kiss was now telling me and I knew in that moment that it meant more to me than anything else Santana could have said or done_. _Her lips were soft as they brushed fluidly against mine and her tongue just gently poked out with each subtle opening of her lips to taste my own and when she finally pulled back after a particularly long and tender kiss her eyes were docile and apologetic.

"I'm sorry I scared you," she said.

"It's okay." I responded gently tucking some wayward hair behind her ear. "I should have trusted you."

"It's okay. I understand why you didn't, but this is a new day and a new start and we're going to trust each other from now on."

"Right!" I affirmed with a smile, leaning back down to kiss her once again.

XXXXXXXXXX

The next few days passed by slowly and uneventfully; there was only so much you could do when you were stuck inside a house that wasn't yours. For hours each day Santana sat at the dining room table pouring over every detail in the files that _The She Devil_ had sent over so unfortunately for the better part of each day I was left to find ways to entertain myself.

The first day, with a little minor help I familiarized myself with the On Demand feature on our television and found out that if it ever didn't work out with Santana that I would go in search of finding Emily Maynard because in watching the entire season of _The Bachelorette_ I'd grown to have a serious crush on that girl. 'She's just so cute…' I thought remembering the way she happily flirted with Kermit the Frog and how cute she looked hanging out with her daughter. The next day I was feeling a little more energetic since I didn't want to spend another whole day on the sofa so this time I went down to the basement and rearranged the gym so I could have a space to work on some choreography so I wouldn't lose a step while we were here. It took me all day and by the end I was too exhausted to try anything out. The day after that I tried to teach myself how to cook. 'Big mistake… huge!' Cooking only managed to keep my interest for about an hour and if the kitchen hadn't filled up with smoke and Santana hadn't come running in with a fire extinguisher; I probably would have burned down the house. Easily, the best part of my day was waking up in the morning. Each day I found Santana's dark brown eyes awake and her snuggled into me. By the forth day of waking up to the same thing I knew it wasn't a coincidence. She was deliberately waiting in bed until I woke up so I wouldn't wake up alone. It was really endearing that she was trying in small ways to show me that she was hearing what I was saying and that she was making a conscious effort to make some changes because she knew that's what I needed. It made me fall even more in love with her if that was possible and it was certainly a fun way to start the day. You'd never guess it, but Santana was a fantastic coddler.

After that morning's cuddle ended up lasting a little longer than the previous days cuddle, thanks to my wandering hands that just couldn't help showing their gratitude over the realization of what Santana was doing each morning and then by extension Santana's wandering mouth that just couldn't allow herself to be upstaged by my increasingly bold fingers we finally dragged ourselves out of bed and started what had become our daily routine; breakfast together quietly, (Santana of course doing the cooking if cooking was required) then Santana starting to look over the files again and me starting to wander around the house in search of something to do. Today, I decided to start reading a book out on the sun porch. This proved without a shadow of a doubt that I was starting to get desperate since reading wasn't normally something I enjoyed. 'Again, words were confusing to me sometimes.'

I made it through about a chapter and a half when I heard Santana's phone ring in the other room. It peaked my interest just because we didn't get many calls. The only two people that ever called were Detective Howell and Agent She Devil. After a minute and nothing seeming to come of the phone call I went back to reading my book.

"Hey Britt…" Santana said entering the sun porch with a smile just as I had finished re-reading the last paragraph. It was hard to remember what I just read without re-reading at least a little bit for a re-fresher after a short break that made me forget. But I did think it was weird that I hadn't even heard Santana come in. 'Maybe I am getting into this book after all,' I thought. "Someone's on the phone for you…" she said passing me the phone.

I looked at Santana questioningly, but took the phone from her hand none the less. 'No one ever calls for me.'

"Hello…" I said curiously into the phone as Santana watched me with a goofy grin on her face.

"Hey Britt…" came the happy response from the other side of the line.

"Quinn…" I giddily said in response as I looked towards Santana who was looking at me with just as happy expression on her face. "It's so good to hear your voice. Are you okay?"

"I think that's supposed to be my line." Quinn responded with a little laugh.

"I'm okay…" I said looking adoringly at Santana to mouth _'thank you."_ She smiled back at me modestly before winking and leaving the room.

"You know you scared the crap out of Mercedes and I…" she scolded.

"I know…" I said regretfully. I really hadn't meant to. It was just bad luck in a crazy, unthinkable situation "I'm really sorry Quinn. Is Mercedes mad at me?"

"No, she's not mad. We were just worried, but if you ever do something like that again," she said with a short pause for dramatic effect. She always did have a flare for the dramatic. "No amount of help from the Lord or Santana will be able to save you because I don't care if it's a sin. I will kill you Brittany Pierce, you got that…"

"I got it." I responded with a half hearted chuckle, trailing off at the horrible memory of that terrible night. "Quinn I gotta know… how's Puck?"

"Well, that's partially why I'm calling." She said making me nervous. Quinn was always someone that was hard to read and it was even harder to read her over the phone without seeing her facial expressions and it was starting to drive the unsteady nerves in my stomach crazy. 'Please dear God have some good news. I don't think I can take anymore bad.' "He woke up Britt! He's awake!" she practically cheered.

"What?" I screamed standing up at attention and dropping my forgotten book to the ground. I could hardly believe my ears. Finally, some of my prayers had been answered. "He's awake…?" I said needing to hear it again.

"Yup! He woke up this morning." She said clearly happy with the new development as well.

"How is he?" I asked excitedly as my eyes started to well up with positively elated tears. "Is he okay?"

"He seems to be okay." She responded with a smile in her tone and without missing a beat. "The doctors are running some test on him now, but I was with him when he woke up and he seems to be pretty with it. He asked about you…"

"Oh my God…" I said as my chest tightened and tears of joy and relief started to fall freely and without restraint. "Thank God." I said not really talking to Quinn but talking to the big man himself and thanking him for saving my friends life. "I've never been more relieved in my life."

"I know the feeling..." Quinn easily agreed as if it was obvious. I knew Quinn cared for Puck, but I guess I didn't realize how deeply until right now. "Between you and Puck… everyone has been worrying themselves sick. I'm glad we get at least one of you back today." Quinn said deflecting from the possible comment or more likely the probable comment slip she made a second ago that might lead to an even deeper discussion that she didn't want to have. Like Santana, Quinn had trouble dealing with hard feeling too. I'm not sure why, it wasn't that complicated… she liked Puck, maybe even more than liked him, but I knew Quinn had been through a rough couple of days so I let the moment pass, but cataloged it for further discussion later when we'd both had a moment to really breathe.

"I wish I could be there but…" I said struggling with how to finish the sentence. 'Hell,' I didn't even know what I was even allowed to say about my situation for that matter. Was it supposed to stay confidential? If I told Quinn what was going on, would that put her in danger too?

"It's okay…" Quinn interjected, saving me from having to figure it out. "Detective Howell… The guy whose phone I'm using told me a little of what's been going on so I know you're pretty much stuck. I really hate Santana for putting you and Puck in this position." She said angrily.

"Quinn, it's not her fault!" I said with a little more bite in my tone than I'd intended. I knew Quinn was just concerned for Puck and I. It normally took Quinn a little while to warm up to new people and she hadn't had that chance with Santana, but I couldn't help getting a little defensive at Quinn's obvious misdirected distain towards my girlfriend. "I could have left and come back home... Santana even wanted me to leave because she thought it was what was best for me, but I choose to stay. I didn't want to leave her. She saved my life Quinn."

"Britt you shouldn't stay because you feel like you owe her…"

"That's not why I stayed." I said pointedly. "I stayed because I love her."

It was quiet on the other end of the line for a minute and I actually started to wonder if the call had been dropped so removed the phone from my ear and looked at the display to check and see that the call was still connected. "I had no idea you felt that strongly about her." Quinn said out of the blue in a more amiable tone.

"Well I do." I said easily. "She needs me. And frankly, I need her. So I'm going to be staying here until it's safe for her to come home."

"Britt…" she said trailing off like she was asking me if I was really sure.

"I love her Quinn!" I said easily once again as if that was all explanation needed.

"Well, okay then." Quinn said knowing that was as emphatic as I'd ever been. "We all miss you." She said changing the subject.

"I miss you guys too." I said longing for the time when this was all over and we could all be back together again. "Tell everyone I'm okay and that hopefully this will all be over soon."

"I hope so..." Quinn replied. I knew that was Quinn's way of verbalizing how scared she was for me and I loved Quinn for that. She didn't need to say it. I'd learned over that last few years how to speak her language and I was even starting to learn how to speak Santana's. Quinn was a good friend and I knew that she would take good care of Puck, 'if Puck would let her' I thought rolling my eyes knowing his stubbornness.

Knowing that our time was probably running short and wanting to get a few things said before we ran out of time I told Quinn. "Tell Puck I love him and that I'm thinking about him, and that I wish I could be there."

"Will do." She promised. "I love you Britt."

"I love you too."

"Be safe…" she pleaded.

"I will. Bye Quinn." I said waiting to hear her say the same before ending the call and breathing in a sigh of relief.

Before I even processed my movement I was up and out of my chair and moving towards the dining room.

**Santana's POV- 3 months later**

Brittany and I were on a high for days, maybe even weeks after the amazing news that Puck was awake and getting better each day. There was a reason to be optimistic now and we believed (well Brittany believed, I was still skeptical) that this was the first step in everything starting to move in the right direction. Carl was so good about keeping us in the loop with Puck's progress even letting Brittany and I talk to him on a few occasions; Brittany was elated. Just the sound of Puck's voice each time had upped her spirits tenfold. It had been slow going for Puck for awhile, but he was making progress now and he was even going to be released from the hospital to a rehab center in about a week. It was a tremendous relief that Puck was getting better, but as that high was wearing off and the days just kept running together with no other progress made, it became frustrating.

It had been three months since we first arrived at this house and the vacation feel to this place was completely gone now. We no longer spent hours together looking out at the lake or sat on the sun porch cuddled together. It's not that we weren't affectionate with each other; we are, a lot in fact. Making love is one of the few things that we can do here that never gets boring. In fact, Brittany had really relaxed and now being intimate was second nature to her. She no longer had any insecurities about sex. She had really let go and it felt good knowing that I'd brought out that side of her. She could probably even show me a few things now. But even still with Puck getting better and Brittany, and I overcoming a lot of obstacles and issues that both she and I had to deal with, now more than ever we both just wanted to get back to the city and back to our lives so we could move on from this.

Life had changed dramatically in 3 months and frankly I wasn't really sure what all I had to go back to when I got my life back. I no longer had a job, that was a give in. My friends were all moving on with their lives which I was thankful for, but it was still a little bitter sweet since I knew they were moving on without me. In the beginning I was so scared that Holly would do something to them because of what I'd done, but luckily that never happened. Carl actually informed me one day during one of our many lengthy conversations that Sunshine had told him if he had any more questions she could be reached in the Philippines because she was moving back there to be with her family; I was happy for her. I knew she missed her family and it was probably good for her to get away from the Holly/ Figgins' situation. Lauren too was moving on. I was shocked to see one day when Brittany and I were sitting on the couch watching TV that Lauren had realized her dream of becoming a professional wrestler. She had been working towards that goal for so long (as long as I'd known her) and I guess somewhere during these last couple months she'd finally gotten her break and broke through. She was a bad ass; always had been. Tina on the other hand, unfortunately I hadn't heard much about. Carl told me she had come in an gave her deposition, but that she really didn't know anything so most likely she wouldn't have to come back for anything further and being that Carl was kind of our lifeline to the outside world, Tina more or less was off the map because she had no dealings with him. It made me sad. Tina was probably my best friend other than Holly and Holly was a part of my life that I really didn't enjoy thinking about. I was tired of this and I hated being stuck here. 'Something's got to change and maybe I need to make it change...' I thought.

TBC…

**AN: Well only two more chapters to go. I think Santana's got a plan… ;) ;) I hope it works…**

**I know this chapter was kinda fillerish, but I felt the need to tie up some of the loose ends before the big finale. And like I said before there is only so much you can do when you are stuck in a house with basically no link to the outside world so sorry if this chapter was a little slow. Not that I think Puck getting better is a loose end or slow and I can promise that you will see him again in the coming chapters. He will play a role don't you worry. I can't leave the guy out who got this whole big snowball started thanks to his crazy idea now could I? :)**

**Thanks again as always for the reviews, alerts, and favorites. You guys make me fly. ;) Right now, I'm looking at trying to post the last chapter on the same day a year ago that I posted the first chapter which happens to be July 18th. So that means you guys are in luck because you will have 2 more chapters over a span of less than 2 weeks. Yay! Light at the end of the tunnel; can you see it? :)**

**Love you guys! Take care!**

**Drew**


	25. Seize The Day

**AN: Hi folks! Here's chapter 25. I'm pretty sure you will like this chapter better than the last one. I know I do. I completely understand the lack of reviews for that chapter. Like I said, it was fluff and I knew when I put it out there that I wasn't really happy with it which is my bad for not tinkering with it some more, but I think this chapter's better. I even changed the **_previously on…_** part from last chapter and made it almost entirely different, (not that the stuff that was written in this same paragraph about Tina, Lauren and Sunshine didn't happen. It did… they are moving on it's just not written in this one.) I just thought this was a much better and clearer lead in to this chapter than how I finished the last one. I know last chapter needed more Brittana than what it had so I'm sorry for that and I hope this chapter makes up for last chapters lacking.**

**Enjoy!**

**BTW… I think if my version of Puck were remotely real I think he would have been hurt than no one cared that he was getting better. ;) No candy, no card, no glee club singing his praise, nada. Poor guy… maybe he'll get some love in this chapter. ;) A guy can hope. :) **

**Disclaimer: What's really left to say? You guys know I don't own Glee. You know that even though I have tremendous love for Santana and Brittany that I don't own them either, but I will say that I own a kitchen island that served as inspiration for part of this chapter and a very vivid day dream that propelled that inspiration onward. So hopefully that's not TMI… Believe me; you'll see what I'm talking about… ;) Hey, a guy's gotta find inspiration somewhere. Who knew it would come from a kitchen island. **

**Have fun! Talk to you at the end. :)**

**Previously on Playing With Fire**

**Santana's POV**

Life had changed dramatically for Brittany and I in the 3 months we'd been trapped at the safe house and frankly, it was becoming harder to picture what my life would be like once I actually got my so called normal life back. 'Not that my life had ever been normal.' I thought taking a brief pause from my heavy thoughts to remember. It kinda seemed like the ending point to all this was never quite within sight. 'I no longer had a job…' that was a give in. That aspect of my life was pretty much the only part of my old life that I would gladly be rid of. A new job would be a welcome change even if it was a huge unknown as to what that job would actually be. It wasn't like I had a whole lot of marketable skills that would make employers want to hire me. In addition to the unknown aspect of employment, all my old friends were moving on too which was good, but it was still a little bitter sweet that Tina, Lauren and Sunshine got to move past this ordeal and I didn't. The only part of my new life that I could actually picture post all this mess was Brittany. I knew and could see exactly how she fit into my life and how I wanted her to fit into my life, but it was a matter of getting to that point where we could actually start living that life that was the problem. 'Something has to change.' I thought trying to think of ways to make that happen. 'And maybe I'm the one who has to make the first move.'

**And now chapter 25- Seize The day**

**Santana's POV**

"Brittany, we have to talk…" I said dropping my fork abruptly and hearing the clattering of the cutlery hit the ceramic plate below. I'd been thinking about how to potentially get us out of this house and out of this lifestyle for the past couple days, and now that I'd finally come up with a plan that I thought could work, I needed to tell Brittany to get her feedback before I moved forward, and put this plan into action. I wasn't about to make another decision for her after how badly the last time I tried to do that had turned out.

"Okay…" Brittany said noticeably clenching her brow. "It sounds serious…"

"I guess it is…" I said trying to downplay the gravity of what this conversation could mean and in the process try to balance my nerves and desire to ease into the conversation by glancing away from her eyes to look and take her hands across the table. Her hands seemed like a much safer place to look, but unfortunately this wasn't a conversation I could have with her hands so I took a deep breath and steadied my resolve. "I think I've come up with a way to get us out of here, but it might be a little dangerous."

I could see Brittany immediately tense at the word '_dangerous.'_ Her shoulders, neck and back were all now stiff as a board like she was a soldier who was just called to attention.

"Dangerous for who?" she asked with a nervous quiver in her voice and eying me curiously.

"Well…" I said needing a second to think about how to put this so Brittany didn't automatically shoot the idea down. "Probably a few people…" I said drawing out the words and thinking about what to say next since I knew that murky answer wouldn't deter Brittany from pushing for more information for very long. "I guess it'll probably be dangerous for the officers who have been guarding us and for the agents and police who will be assigned to carrying this out and…"

"You?" she interrupted flatly like she could see plainly where this conversation was going and what I was hesitant to tell her.

"Possibly…" I said looking apprehensively into her eyes and seeing a look that told me she was about to renounce my idea in total.

"I don't like this already…" she said letting go of my hands and crossing her arms guardedly across her chest. Her eyes looked firm in her resolve and I knew that this was going to be a hard sell, but it was the only way I could think of to end this. I didn't particularly like our options either, but I didn't want to spend the rest of my life here.

"Brittany I've spent everyday for the last three months looking through those files and there's nothing in there. The only way to put an end to this is to find new evidence against Holly and right now the police can't do that because she is so far underground that they can't get to her. Somehow she needs to be flushed out so we can find her and then just hope she makes a mistake so the feds can apprehend her."

"How do you expect to flush her out?" she asked not getting the clear picture of what I was suggesting; not that I didn't understand why she didn't get it. I was being pretty vague since I didn't want to come right out and say that I was basically suggesting to use myself as bait.

"Well…" I said realizing this was the time to lay it all out there, but still not really feeling comfortable or confident in telling her because I wasn't really comfortable or confident with it myself. 'She's gonna hate this.' I thought knowing that if the roles were reversed that there was no way I would allow Brittany to put herself on the line like this. It was too dangerous, but I didn't see anyway around it. "Basically, we have to leak our location to people within Holly's organization and set a trap for them when they come after me."

"No way!" Brittany said immediately and emphatically while throwing her hands up in the air in a blocking motion that further proved just how committed she was to me not doing this. "_Hope she makes a mistake when she comes after you…_ that sounds crazy and way too dangerous. What if she doesn't make a mistake? What then? I'll tell you what then… you end up dead that's what. No way! There has to be another way." She said standing up and backing away harshly from the table to look down at me with conviction in her stance.

"Britt I know, but I've tried, I've looked. This is it." I said bleakly while standing up and walking around the table towards her in the hopes of trying to bring down the walls she was putting up that were preventing this idea from being able to move forward. I really wished there was another option as I looked into her eyes that still showed no signs of budging. I'd tried to come up with something else, I really did, but I'd been through all the scenarios. It didn't seem like Holly wanted anything else bad enough to come out of hiding other than me. Judging from everything that the new moles Agent Sylvester had planted within the organization had been saying we knew that people within the organization were still looking for me which could only mean one thing… they were told by whomever was in charge to keep looking for me which meant if they knew where I was that they would come for me. This would be the chance that the police and FBI needed to catch them in the act and hopefully catch Holly in the process.

"Britt, I know this sounds crazy and believe me if there was any other way I wouldn't even suggest this." I said grabbing her shoulders lightly and trailing my hands up and down her arms almost like I was trying to warm her to the idea. "But there's not." I said making eye contact with her. "We either continue what we're doing and everything stays the same or we try to do something that could end this. I for one don't want to live here forever."

"Santana…" Brittany said softly, finally showing some emotion other than utter defiance. It was good to hear a difference in her tone and see a softening in her features, but this tone and look told me that things weren't about to get any easier and probably they were going to get emotional which was something I didn't want. I still struggled with how to deal with my feeling even though I'd been getting better. I could see the emotion in Brittany's face just bubbling under the surface and it hurt me to know that I was putting her through this and it certainly didn't help knowing that if we did move forward with my idea that Brittany's fears were only going to get worse. "I want my life back too, but if it means you risking your life to do it then I'd rather live the rest of my life here with you than have you risk your life for just the chance at getting our old lives back."

"Brittany…" I said with utter adoration and emotion starting to prickle my eyes. 'Damnit…' I thought knowing my emotions were getting away from me. I could barely believe that she could possibly love me that much. 'How could I ever deny her when she said things and looked like that?' I thought gazing back at her and seeing that we both were about to break down. After a couple seconds to process her words I carefully took her hands in mine and leaned forward up onto my toes to get her to look at me before I kissed her tenderly. The kiss lasted a little longer than I'd initially intended since each gentle, emotion laced kiss parted our lips for mere milliseconds to allow us to breathe into each others mouths in an effort to quell the on swell of emotion that continued to build between us with each gentle brush of our lips or tongues. After finally pulling back but still breathing deeply into each others mouths I looked at her with our foreheads still connected and felt my resolve start to crumble. "You'd do that for me? You'd give up everything?"

"I wouldn't be giving up everything…" she said pulling back so we could look at each other more clearly. "I'm getting to keep you. You're the most important part to everything I want."

It was still hard for me to believe her. I trusted her, but it was still hard to believe that I was worthy of such devotion because I had yet to truly believe it myself. That part I was still working on, but I was getting there thanks to Brittany's constant validation.

"Okay…" I finally said at a mere whisper and looking into her crystal blue eyes for a sign on how to proceed.

"Okay what?" she questioned with a hopeful smile starting to tug on her lips.

"I won't do it. My plan's off."

"It is?" she questioned as her grin started to get bigger and spread across her face. Her happiness was actually kind of infectious and impossible for me to ignore as a small smile started to tug on my face as well with just the thought that she was no longer scared or sad which was all I'd ever really wanted for her.

"It is. We'll try to figure something else out." I said trying to sound hopeful that that was a possibility, but I knew the reality of our situation. 'I guess I'm just gonna have to get used to the idea of being stuck here forever.' Not that it was all bad being stuck here because at least I had Brittany here and if she kept looking at me the way she was looking at me right now like she wanted to jump for glee and jump on top of me at the same time I knew that I could be happy with at least that aspect of my life. Even though a part of me still wanted to offer Brittany more than that. "I told you that we'd make these decisions together so if you really don't want me to go through with this then I won't."

"I love you so much." She said rushing a kiss at me and picking me up from under my butt and forcing me to wrap my legs around her waist. I settled on her hips with a bounce as she steadied us both in the embracing lip lock with her hands before she slowly, so she wouldn't stumble, walked us towards the center island.

The entire time she moved we never broke our heated lip lock. That was until I felt her hands under my butt cheeks lifting up a little more to place me on top of the counter.

"Umph…" she grunted, being slightly out of breath due to the intensity of the kiss as my butt connected with the cold granite of the center island.

Immediately, I reached for her face and pulled her back towards me. I didn't like the distance that had suddenly appeared after she was forced to release her grip around my ass. As we kissed I could still taste the lingering enchilada sauce from dinner, but the rest of what I tasted and felt was sweet, innocent, and pure, and all Brittany as her chest connect suddenly with my own. I began pawing at her back trying to pull her shirt up so I could remove it and when it finally gathered enough for me to get a grip on it I yanked it up causing Brittany to back up for a second so I could pull it off.

"Mmm…" I hummed taking her cute, pink, perky nipple into my mouth not even bothering to remove her bra before hand. In my haste and excitement I only managed to rip the cup down so that her breast spilled out over the top edge of the fabric. When I was done suckling on the first nipple I did the same thing to the other, glancing up at Brittany's face to see that her eyes were closed and her head was thrown back, arching her breast further into my greedy mouth.

"Mmm… God I love these breast." I said as I groped and grabbed handfuls of the soft pliable skin. I nipped excitedly at the small bud with careful teeth and smiled as Brittany's excitement also took over. She was now grabbing at my thighs and ass and in that moment all I wanted her to do was rip my jeans off my body and fuck me right there and then on the countertop. In the months that we'd been here Brittany had grown a keen sense of awareness about what I wanted in the bedroom and this time was no different because just as the thought sprang to mind I felt her hands move to my zipper and tugging my jeans off quickly. She scrapped her nails down the full length of my thighs to my knees and I felt a chill run down my spine and settled in my groin in anticipation of what would come next.

After a few more moments of grabbing hands, pulling hips, biting teeth, licking tongues and kissing any piece of skin we could find I'd had enough of the build up; I wanted the main event.

"Brittany please…" I begged, panting out short breaths of air as her lips attacked my neck. "Fuck me already…"

"What was that?" Brittany mumbled coyly into my neck with a smile as she kept up the same pace of her hands and lips that were everywhere but where I really wanted them to be. "I didn't hear you…"

"God Brittany…" I panted as she finally started to trail her fingers down my midsection and over the wet fabric of my panties. She rubbed in slow circles over the entire area and when she finally hit my clit I got infinitely wetter, feeling the surge of pleasure move through my body and settle in my core. "You heard what I said… Fuck me!"

"I like it when you beg." She said pulling away from my neck almost innocently. The look on her face was innocent, but the quickening pace of her fingers was anything but. "It's sexy," she smirked before leaning forward and nipping at my neck.

I was almost embarrassed at what she probably saw when she'd looked at me. I had to be a panting, sticky mess right now. I was excited and turned on beyond belief, but I didn't care. She looked sexy as hell with her breast still spilling over the top of her bra and I would never even think about not doing exactly what she wanted me to do at this point.

"Please Brittany…" I begged again, feeling her lips on my neck turn upward in a smile. "Please fuck me."

Brittany pulled back from my neck with a smirk and guided my shirt easily over top of my head. My bra quickly followed and now I was sitting, legs spread open on the counter in only my underwear.

"How do you want me to fuck you?" she asked in that innocent voice that sounded so amazing when she was saying things that were just so dirty. It was almost illicit the feelings that that voice conjured up within me.

She began pecking light kisses across my chest as I sat there squirming and pondering and finding it difficult to think under the now tighter circles of her fingers. Brittany was now so good at so many things it was actually kind of hard to choose. I would have been happy with any way Brittany decided as long as in the end I got to come, 'but' I thought reconsidering 'Brittany has a magical tongue' once she'd let go and really learned how to use it so that ended up winning out in that moment for me.

"Fuck me with your tongue..." I panted out arching my quivering hips up into her still stroking fingers.

"I knew you were gonna say that." She said after pulling back from my chest to look at me with that _I'm too smart for my own good grin_ on her face. It made me want to look at her angrily since she was now teasing me, but as soon as the scowl started to rise it was quickly replaced by an eye roll knowing I couldn't be angry with her at the moment and a short smile.

"Tell me you love me…" she commanded, noticing my smile and staring at me intently.

I was certainly in no position to refuse her anything nor did I ever want to refuse her anything particularly a declaration of love.

"I love you." I said as my breath hitched feeling her fingers move my panties to the side exposing my wet center to the increasingly warm air of the kitchen.

She was still teasing me even now which I was starting to think was cruel. Her lips traveled everywhere but where I needed them most. They moved down the inside of my thigh, across my navel, even down the crease at the joint of my leg, but not over my pussy. I was throbbing for her touch at this point and my legs that she was knelling contently between were thrumming with anticipation.

"Britt please…" I begged hopefully for the final time, wanting so badly to encourage her to move past this teasing pace.

Looking back up at me with a cocky smirk like she'd been waiting for me to ask her all along Brittany finally used the flat of her tongue to trace upward from my entrance to my clit.

"Oh God…" I whimpered at that first touch, arching my hips up into her hungry mouth. It was the same feeling I got every time Brittany first touched me kinda like I wanted to pull her inside my body and never let her out. It was the most perfect feeling I'd ever experienced and each touch after that initial feeling of comfort solidified that feeling.

Brittany was so good with her tongue and the effect was always the same; me fisting her hair and pulling it to the side and out of her way so I could see her face clearly as she did her thing. It was beautiful and so incredibly sexy. She always applied the exact right amount of pressure to the right place and knew exactly when I needed just a little more help to get over the edge to add her fingers. This time I knew I wouldn't need that help because I was already so turned on before she even started to use her tongue that her fingers wouldn't even get the chance to come into play.

Brittany kissed, licked and sucked my pussy for the next few minutes with complete abandon, not caring one bit that I was probably all over her face and that I was sitting on an area that we used to prepare food. She loved to do it just like I love to do it to her. The thought of going down on Brittany only elevated my arousal and as Brittany encircled and applied steady suction with her lips and fluttered her tongue over my clit the tension in my body gave way and I exploded in waves of pulsing intense pleasure.

Brittany continued to lick and kiss me as I came down panting a mantra of muffled whimpers and soft breathy moans as my orgasm faded. It took me a minute to control my shudders and regain any form of control over my limbs. They still kinda felt like Jell-O as Brittany began to stand back up using my thighs to help pull herself back to a standing position. The massaging motion she continued to apply to my thighs as we stared at each other for a few moments was helping the blood flow return to other areas of my body that had been severely deprived over the last several minutes.

"Come here…" I said pulling her towards me by her rosy cheeks to plant a heated kiss on her lips. My legs immediately encircled her waist, pinning her against me. Even if she wanted to get away which I knew she didn't she wouldn't be able to with the vice grip my legs had around her waist. We kissed for several long minutes, nipping, peaking, biting and enjoying the feel of the other person's lips on our own until both of us were left panting and in need of oxygen.

"Come with me…" I said hopping down from the counter and pulling Brittany to the bedroom since I already knew how I was going to return the favor.

**Brittany's POV**

Santana and I were lying in bed after we'd experienced our third and forth orgasms of the night respectively just trying to breathe. I was the first to get my breathing under control since it was probably a little bit harder for Santana since I was lying on top of her chest making it more difficult, but the cocky part of me wanted to believe that I was just that good that it took her a little longer to recover.

I allowed her that time as I tucked myself in quietly under her chin. I was content to just enjoy the gradual decrease in intervals between the rising and falling of her chest. It was peaceful to just listen to the now steady thumping of her heart against my ear.

After a few more minutes at an even cadence I felt her sigh out a particularly large breath of air and what followed shocked me completely. "I want to marry you." She announced out of the blue.

"What?" I said shooting up from my position to look at her like she'd just said I want to join the circus. Not that I would have objected to either of the two statements it's just that I wasn't expecting what she'd said.

"Don't worry…" she said probably misinterpreting my behavior for panic. "I'm not asking you to marry me now I'm just saying that I want to marry you someday."

I breathed in a sigh that I wasn't sure was a sigh of relief since I hadn't been expecting Santana to say that or if it was a sigh of disappointment that she hadn't in fact asked me to marry her. I knew I wanted to marry her at some point it's just we'd never discussed it so the statement was a little shocking. It was then that I noticed that Santana looked remarkably at ease with the topic of conversation. It was pretty surprising given how she normally got uncomfortable with heavy discussions and it made me feel good that she was so comfortable with the idea. Or…'Maybe it was that third orgasm that relaxed her enough to finally speak without worry.' I decided that either way I liked that she was comfortable with the idea of being my wife.

"I want to marry you too." I said realizing that I'd yet to say anything other than a shocked '_what' _that minus well have been a '_huh'_ for all my eloquence_._

"Good because I want to give you all those things that you've told me you want." She said looking at peace with the whole idea and trailing a comforting hand up and down my spine. It felt good to be talking about a future with Santana. It's what I'd been hoping for. "The family with a couple kids, the cute house near Puck and Quinn, the third generation of Lord Tubbington… I want you to have all those things and I wanna be the one who can provide you with them."

"You will…" I said easily like I knew it was only a formality.

"No I won't." she said popping my beautiful bubble that her perfect words had created. I didn't understand. A second ago she sounded so sure of what she wanted and it seemed like we wanted the exact same things. She had given me a short glimpse of a perfect life and now it felt like she was taking it all back and it hurt. It hurt really bad to have the picture taken away from me.

"At least I can't if we're still stuck here." She said rolling to her side to face me and looking at me like she could see that her previous statement had stung and wanting to rectify it.

I now understood what this was all about. "Santana…" I said this time sighing for reasons that included annoyed, irritated and put out. But also on the other side of things at least I knew that she still wanted that perfect picture she painted for me and I decided to let that feeling win out and the annoyance to pass. "I thought we went over this and decided that it wasn't worth the risk?"

"No- you decided…" She announced shifting onto her elbow and causing me to do the same. "Because to me your dreams are worth the risk. If we stay here it'll be like we're only half living and it's gonna suck because I know that we can have it all. I can do this. I know I can. We just have to try."

I weighed her words carefully. She did sound confident that she could make it work and still stay safe in the process, but I still wasn't sure. It was a huge risk to take and I knew it would kill me if anything ever happened to her. "Santana I still think it's too big a risk."

"Where not gonna do this tomorrow." She explained and pushed forward trying to convince me. "It's gonna take some planning and making sure everything and everyone are in place before anything ever starts to be put into action and if at anytime we think it's too much than we can pull the plug, but I feel like we have to at least try."

"I don't know…" I said trailing off still not completely sold on the idea. "I just don't want you to get hurt or God forbid worse."

"Britt," She said stroking my cheek tenderly with the back of her fingers. "I have the best motivation in the world to be careful because all those dreams you have… I have them too. They're my dream now and I'm wanna fight for them and not just sit here and allow the opportunity to pass us by."

"Is that what you think I'm doing?" I asked scrunching my brow. "Just letting go of my dreams?"

"No." She said easily while trailing her hand down my arm to my waist and pulling me in to the cup of her hips. "I think you're scared. And believe me I understand. It's a little scary for me too, but not nearly as scary as thinking I let the opportunity pass that could have allowed us to get married and have kids and do everything else we wanna do."

There was silence for awhile as I allowed Santana's words to penetrate somewhat through my fear. God, this was scary and I knew I would be anxious until, 'oh God who even knew how long this anxiety would last. Probably indefinitely…' "You really believe this can work?" I asked tentatively.

"I do." She responded confidently and with an inordinate amount of strength that I didn't even know Santana possessed.

"Okay then…" I announced deciding to trust Santana. "But if either one of us thinks at any time that it's getting too dangerous we have the right to pull the plug."

"Deal!" Santana said leaning in to kiss me quickly. "I can't wait for the day that this is all over and I can really ask you to marry me."

The excitement in her tone made me sort of forget the danger that was directly ahead and focus only on the happiness of what was beyond that. "But what if I ask you first?" I said playfully.

"Well then I guess it will save me a few grand on buying you an engagement ring."

'What?' I thought punching her playfully in the shoulder.

"I'm kidding…" she said in defense, rolling onto her back and throwing her hands up in the air to ward off any further attacks. "Of course I would still get you a ring…" she said with a chuckle. "You just wouldn't get to see my amazing proposal."

"You already know what you're gonna do?" I asked clearly intrigued and really surprised.

"Maybe… maybe not…" she in a playful tone. "And that's all you're gonna get out of me; some things need to be kept a secret." She said wrapping me up and pulling me close.

"Fine…" I said sulking, but really only visibly sulking because I had to admit that the idea of Santana proposing to me made me really happy even if it was still a hypothetical sitting out there in the distance. "I can't wait till we get out of here. I've never been very good at waiting to find out surprises. I used to go looking for my Christmas gifts from my parents in November."

Santana chuckled lightly at that. "I can't wait to get out of here either."

TBC…

**AN: Okay so there's chapter 25. Looks like the people who wanted this to be extended are at least in a little bit of luck because remember when I said it depends how it scripts out how many chapters it will be… well I wasn't really anticipating that Brittany would be such a tough nut to crack nor was I planning to add anything about marriage, but anyway since it basically took an entire chapter to convince Brittany of the plan it means there are still 2 more chapters left, not just one. But the downside to that is that it also means that I won't be posting the last chapter by July 18th. It's partially because I don't think I can write 2 chapters by then and partially because that isn't fair for my beta to be put under that kind of time constraint either. I can't expect her to get a chapter back to me that quickly. People need to have a life so in fairness to her I'm gonna push back the last chapters delivery date to at some point in July. Hell, you never know the next chapter might script out longer than I expect and I have to add another chapter to the total. Who knows… I'm terrible at predicting. I once tried to guess how many MnM's were in a jar and I said something like 550 and there turned out to be over 3,000 so take that for what you will. It's a good thing I'm not a scientist because my hypotheses would be all over the place. :)**

**Also, I want to put this out there for anyone who's interested… After this story is over I will be in need of a new beta. For reasons that are her own, Lacksubstance won't be able to continue as my beta so if anyone is interested in the job let me know. We can probably start by having both you and Lacksubstance look over the closing chapters of this story if you'd like or not if you'd prefer, but it would allow you to be one of the first to see how this story turns out and also to see if you like working with me. I swear (oops) I mean promise (my mom always taught me it's not polite to swear not that I don't break that about every 15 minutes some days.) I'm easy to work with and I'm certainly understanding of personal time and limitations that life can bring about that delay the beta-ing process. I know it's not easy. Thanks in advance for any interest. It will be a huge help.**

**Take care and for anyone that chooses to review, thank you! I hope you liked it! I know I'm much happier with this chapter than I was with the last one. ;)**

**Drew**


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